Fate Unlimited
by archangel77
Summary: With his final moments inside the Moon Cell, the boy who had been victorious makes his final wishes to the Holy Grail, a wish to carry on, and a wish to let that girl make it out safe. And now, he awakens in a new world, a real world, but only to have been called into another war by non other than the girl his wished to save. Fate/Stay night and sort of Fate extra mix (not really)
1. Chapter 1

As the boy who had been crowned champion slowly started to fizzle away inside of the Moon Cell, he managed to let out yet another wish, not knowing whether the Grail would comply with it or not, he still managed to get it out. Not only did he want the girl to make it out alive, he wanted his legacy to carry on. He wasn't ready to die yet, but if it meant that others could be saved by the cost of his own life, he was willing to except his fate. Little did he know though, that the grail would grant both of his wishes and he would awaken in a world that was unknown to him, inside a new world where he would be given life that he could claim as his. Where he could have the chance to live, a chance to grasp life and hold it in his own hands. But of course, nothing can ever be completely perfect…

Fate Unlimited

_Where am I…? _The voice of a boy echoed throughout the endless space of the subconscious world. A world that existed only between the realms of reality and death. Unaware of what was happening, the boy could feel himself slowly falling, like he was sinking underwater. He tried to turn his body, but he couldn't move, he was stuck falling how he was. The only thing he could do was look with his eyes, and even then he was only looking straight ahead, unable to adjust his line of sight.

_What is this place? Why can't I move?_ His voice continued to echo, even though he wasn't moving his mouth. It was like he was using some sort of telepathy to project his thoughts to the outside world. As he continued to wonder, his body turned itself on its own so that he was now falling with his feet first and he could now move his head. He looked downward where there was a bright light shining at the bottom. The light was shining red, but it didn't look ominous or misleading, it almost looked comforting, like something was calling him. Not being able to struggle, he simply closed his eyes as he drew closer and closer to the light. Soon the light engulfed his body, causing it to phase through whatever was there, starting first with his feet, and then the rest of the body.

When he opened his eyes again, his surroundings were completely different. He had appeared in what seemed to be an abandon room, the only light being from the moon that was shining down from the open roof. The air smelled so…clean and pure, so real. The night was quiet, the only sound being made was from him breathing. He was sitting on an old reclining chair that had been covered up by a towel, and around him were a few broken tables. That was about it, this room was a total dump. He looked around the room, and then back up at the moon.

"So…this is life huh?" He mumbled softly to himself. He couldn't quite remember everything, but there were some parts of his past that were clear. He knew who his previous servant was throughout the war that he fought in, and he knew that he had been victorious, but for some reason that was it. He couldn't remember who he was. He couldn't remember the names of some of the people that he had battled against. He couldn't remember some of the people that he had talked with, but the thing that was the strangest by far, was that for some reason, the idea of him having been called as a servant for what must be another war was the only thing going through his mind, like it was something that he just knew for reasons that even made him wonder. He didn't know where he was, he didn't even really know who he was, but he knew that he was here for a reason, and that reason was to be a servant.

He then turned his attention at his body, checking out his physical form. He was wearing a long sleeve black shirt that had two armor guards hanging off the shoulders, and his hands were covered up by black metallic gauntlets. The collar on his shirt was popped and underneath you could see the top of a white t-shirt. He also wore black leather pants along with a pair of steel toed boots. There was a white scarf tied around his waist as well.

"I see what's going on…it looks like my wish was granted after all, just in a different way than I had hoped." He let out a soft chuckle as he stood up off the chair. He moved his fingers around in the gauntlets, getting a feel for them, and then kicked the ground with the tip of his shoe a few times. Before he could do anything else, he could hear the sound of footsteps running down the hallway, and they were moving very quickly towards his location. He stood in the light of the moon, waiting for whoever was running towards him to rush in through the door. Then, the door burst open, and a young woman came rushing in. She stopped when she stepped inside and looked at the boy that stood before her. The two locked eyes, her bright aquatic blue ones, and his solid dark blue ones.

"Hey there," The boy's voice was calm and friendly as he shot the girl a two finger salute. She had black hair that was put up in twin tails, with a pair of black ribbons that held them in place. She had on a long red sleeve shirt with a white cross across her chest. She also wore a black skirt with thigh high socks. The girl let out a sigh of disappointment as she looked away from the boy before her. He knew this girl already, there was no way he could ever forget a girl like her.

"I was sure I would summon a Saber class, maybe I just didn't do it right or something…" The girl mumbled.

_So my guess was right…how ironic._ The boy closed his eyes as the thought ran through his head. "So then…I take it you're the one who summoned me?" The boy reopened his eyes and smiled at her. She still had that disappointed look on her face as she looked back to him.

"I suppose I am. I guess you don't look totally worthless, maybe we still have a shot," The girl replied cold heartedly.

"Well aren't you just a little bag of sunshine…" The boy sighed sarcastically.

"What was that?!"

"Oh nothing…so then master, should we get started?" Finally it seemed that he spoke some words that actually caught the girl's attention.

"It's good that you're eager at least, but first off before we do anything, I need to get to know you a little, and I guess it wouldn't hurt to have you know a little about me as well. If we're going to be partners then we both should have some sort of knowledge of the other."

"If you insist, then I won't argue with you, but with 127 other contestants out there, I wouldn't waste too much time. The more training we get, the better off we'll be." The girl cocked her head at him and gave him a strange look.

"What are you talking about? 127 other people? That's ridiculous," She paused and let out a deep sigh before mumbling something to herself "Great, out of all the servants I get the clueless one…" She cleared her throat before speaking again.

"So you know that you're a servant…and you know you're in a war…do you know anything else?" She asked with a serious look in her eyes.

"Do I need to? As a servant those seem to be the only things I need to know. Well those, and the fact that you're my master."

"Well…why don't you tell me what you know, you seem to have been in a previous war, but it doesn't sound anything like the ones I've heard of."

"Very well… but must we do it in such a dark and gloomy environment? If we're going to have story time can't we at least have tea to go with it?" The boy smiled at the girl once more, trying to provoke more emotions out of her rather than disappointment. For a second he thought he saw a smile start to emerge in the corner of her mouth, but that was it and it was only for a second. The girl turned around and walked out of the room.

"Come on," She said still in her still disappointed voice. She motioned him to follow her as she left the room, and so he did. He followed behind her and out of the building that they were in, neither of them saying anything as they walked. That was soon to change though as the girl spoke up.

"So, can you at least tell me what class you are so I know what I should call you? I know you can't be a Saber class but you look like you could fit a number of categories…judging by your personality and size you can't be a berserker…a Castor maybe? Or possibly an Archer? Actually I bet you're a Lancer! Or maybe you're actually an Assassin, you look pretty sketchy, I bet that's what you are," The girl continued to ramble on and on, not being able to decide what class that her servant belonged too.

"Well, honestly, I'm not exactly sure…" He let his sentence trail off as he looked up to the moon. The girl stopped in her place and turned around quickly.

"What?! You don't even know what class you are?! How is that even possible!" She yelled angrily at her servant, clenching her right hand into a fist.

"I apologize, but it seems that my memory is terribly broken, I can't even remember who I am. The only things I know is that you're my master and I'm your servant. I know that you have three command seals on your hand that you can use to make me do whatever you command without hesitation. I only vaguely have memories from the previous war I was in, so again I apologize but it seems that you've summoned quite the problematic servant," The boy tried to cover up his feelings of worthlessness with sarcasm but his master could see right through it. She turned back around and started to walk again, letting out a deep sigh.

"Well I need to call you something; you can't be running around a nameless servant." As she spoke those last few words a sudden flash of images ran through the boys mind, causing him to stop in his steps. It was like a flashback was playing in his mind. He saw another man, dressed in black with a red overcoat. His was relaxing peacefully in a chair with multiple school desks around him; the room that he was in was definitely a classroom. A smile was going across his face as he seemed to be looking at the boy, like he was there in the room with him. This man was his previous servant, it was Archer.

_'"…My real identity huh? Boy you just don't know when to drop it…well the truth is… I don't have a real name…you can think of me as a nameless servant I suppose."'_ And with the end of his sentence, the flashback stopped and reality closed in on the boy once more.

"Hello? Hey! Earth to servant!" The boy looked to the girl in front of him, she had a concerned and confused look on her face. "Are you feeling okay? You just kinda zoned out there for a minute."

"Yeah, I'm fine…I think I'm still adjusting to the real world a little. I'll be fine though, it won't slow me down." He flashed a reassuring smile to the girl. She turned back around and continued walking once again. "So who should I call you?"

"My name Rin Tohsaka, call me by my first or last name, it doesn't really matter to me."

"I'll stick with Rin, it's shorter. So how long of a walk are we taking?"

"My house isn't too far from here. Once we're there, you can start telling me things that you know. We'll exchange information with each other and then I'll show you around the city, that way you have some kind of idea where things are at."

"First night together and you're already taking me on a date? How romantic," The boy smiled and let out another chuckle.

"Please, I've turned down hundreds of dates from men far better looking than you, I'm showing you around simply for the fact that the more you know about your surroundings, the better suited you'll be in battle." Rin's voice was cold and harsh, not showing any more emotion than usual.

"Ouch, you know you're lucky I'm already dead otherwise those words might've killed me."

"Your sense of humor is rather sad if you ask me." The boy grunted and lowered his head a little.

"At least I have a sense of humor…" He mumbled.

"I-I have a sense of humor too! Nothing you say just happens to strike me as humorous!" She whipped her head around over her shoulder and looked at him, looking flustered as she responded to his comment. The boy's eyes opened a little and a smile came across his face.

"I knew you had more emotions in there somewhere! Now if I can just get you to show me the emotions that don't involve you yelling at me, we might actually get along." He continued to smile at her as she looked away with a slight blush.

"Whatever…my house is just up the street, come on we're almost there." Even though she was no longer looking at him, he still couldn't help but smile. He had a feeling that they were going to get along swimmingly.

He followed her to her house, and once they entered, he followed her up the stairs and to her room. As she stepped inside she walked over to her bed and sat down. The boy followed close behind her, but he remained standing, looking around her room.

"I don't know why you keep looking around, my room isn't that interesting," Rin said, staring at the boy.

"Sorry, I was just looking," He replied still in a happy tone. Rin looked at him with a puzzling look for a second, and then got back to the topic at hand.

"Anyways, you should start telling me what you know because it seems like you're about as well informed as some random guy off the street."

"Hey, first off, I believe the agreement was that we would talk over tea, and second, I'm not totally clueless. I do know things; it just so happens that some things I know are wrong is all." Rin let out a sigh as she stood up off her bed.

"Fine, I'll go make us some tea. Once you get something in your mind you don't let it go do you?" Once again, as she finished her sentence, the last few words seemed to trigger another flashback inside the boys mind.

The setting was the same as last time, still in the classroom, and the same man from before was there, sitting peacefully in his throne of desks.

'"…_Hmm? Again with my name? You sure are persistent, I already told you to think of me as a nameless hero. Once you get something in your mind you just don't let it go do you?"' _

Hero. The word had changed; he no longer wanted me to think of him as a nameless servant, but as a nameless hero.

After that, the flashback stopped. When reality came back to the boy, Rin was already gone; he assumed that she had gone downstairs. He looked around her room again, when something in particular caught his eye. It was some kind of electronic device that was sitting atop her dresser. It wasn't very big, and it had a small screen on it, it kind of looked like an iPod. He walked over to it and tried to turn it on, but nothing happened, it must be dead. About the time he went to set it back down, Rin had returned to the room with two cups full of tea.

"Oh, that old thing? It hasn't worked in years, I'm actually surprised that I still have it, I thought I got rid of it, I guess not. If you want you can keep it, I have no use for it." Rin set the tea down on the table that was next to her bed and then proceeded to sit down.

"So on the first night, you've invited me into your room, you've given me a gift, you've made me tea, AND you're taking me on a date. If that's not luck, then I don't know what luck is." He laughed a little as he shot her another smile.

"You're unbelievable…" Rin let out another sigh. "Anyways, can you finally tell me what you know?"

"I suppose I can do that." The boy picked up his cup of tea, and took a seat next to Rin on her bed. "You see, I'm sort of special. This is actually my first war being a servant." A look of shock ran across Rin's face as he said it.

"What do you mean? Don't you have knowledge of war though?"

"Yes, but not as a servant."

"So…what you're saying is that-"

"Yup, in the war that I'm referring too, I was a master like yourself." Rin slowly took a sip of her tea as she processed what her servant was telling her. "I don't remember a whole lot about the war, but I do know that I was the one who ended up victorious."

"Really?!" Rin's voice was filled with shock and excitement. "Did you get to make a wish? Did it actually get granted? Who was your servant?" She continued to fire off question after question.

"My existence here in this war must be proof that my wishes got granted…as for my servant, well…he was a pain in the ass. The most stubborn person I ever met but…he was a good person. He was strong and he was kind at heart. He was from the Archer class, but he never told me his true identity, he was just a nameless hero."

"So, out of curiosity, what did you wish for?"

"Well, first off, before we get to that I need to explain to you the kind of war I was in, apparently the one we're involved in now is different so you say. The war I fought in did not take place in the real world, but instead it took place inside of a virtual reality world known as the Moon Cell. In this war it was kill or be killed, much like most wars, but in this war you were given 6 days to prepare for a fight against an opponent, and then on the 7th day you would face off in an elimination battle. The winner would advance and the loser would die, their data would be erased. The war started with 128 contestants, and the battles continued until there was only 1 left. The winner was then granted a wish by the Holy Grail."

"That is definitely not the same world that you're in now…how could virtual reality control life and death in the real world? That doesn't make a lot of sense if you ask me."

"I'm sure that to you it doesn't, but to be there in that situation…you couldn't really argue."

"I suppose you're right…so then what happened? If you won then how come you're here as a servant? Servants are usually based off of hero's that have died, but if you won than how come you're dead?"

"That's…a complicated matter. You see, my body in the Moon Cell's system wasn't based off of a physical body in the real world, or so we thought, so my data didn't actually exist as a combatant. So once I got to the Holy Grail, the Moon Cell knew about me and instantly began to erase me, but before I died, I was able to make two wishes. I didn't know if they would be granted or not, but I wished for them anyways."

"What were they?"  
"My first wish was for a girl that had aided me throughout my final battles to make it out alive, and my second was to make sure that my legacy lived on, thus spawning me in this war with a second chance at life. If we win again, the power of the grail can give me a new life, a life that I never got to live. So, that's my resolve, that's what will drive me to win this war, no matter what." The boy had a strong look of determination in his eyes as he looked into the eyes of Rin.

"That's quite the story, and while I do have a lot of questions about it, I need to catch you up to pace with this war. The one that we're in now is completely different. There are only 7 of us, and it's a free for all whenever, wherever. It's best to do it at night, that way innocent people don't get involved and killed, but of course there will be some that don't follow by this rule. If any people should see servants fighting, they are to be killed instantly. The war ends when there is only one team of master and servant left, and since we don't have a preparation period like you did, we learn about our opponents as we go."

"I see…this is quite different. I knew that people would die…but now to have to actually kill them…before the system just deleted them, but now those deaths will have to be by my hands…its disturbing to say the least."

"I know what you mean…I don't like it either, but to win this war, I'll do anything."

"I will follow your orders as you give them, so don't hesitate to tell me when you want me to do something."

"Alright…and as your master I swear to you that I won't let you down."

"Hmph, please don't go soft on me…I was just getting used to your cold heart." He smiled at her as he said it. Rin got flustered again as she stood up off her bed in retaliation.

"I'm not cold hearted!" He stood up off the bed and placed his hand on her head.

"I know, I just like it when you get all flustered and embarrassed. It amuses me to watch the high and mighty fall." He let out a laugh as she swatted his hand off of her head.

"J-just shut up!" He laughed again before taking a drink of his tea. Rin took her seat back on the bed and started to speak again. "So, let me ask you this; can you phase in and out of the world?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, while we're in public I can't risk you walking by my side out in the open, so most servants usually mask their presence by dematerializing themselves."

"Well, I've never tried…hold on." Rin waited and watched for a second as her servant sat quietly on her bed. He closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths, and then in a second, he dematerialized.

"That's good, at least you can do that. Alright, you can show yourself again."

"Uhm…" The boy's voice could be heard but his body remained hidden. "…I can't. I don't know how." Rin's hand quickly came up to her face as she smacked her palm against her forehead. The boy then let out a long laugh as he materialized back into the world.

"Ah man, you should've seen your face! Priceless!" He continued to laugh as Rin glared at him.

"You…are so…annoying…" Rin gritted her teeth as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Maybe one of these days my humor will get to you."

"Maybe one of these days your brain will get to you…"

"Again with such mean words…just because I'm an idiot doesn't mean you have to be a bitch…"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"Oh shit did I say that out loud?! I didn't mean it! Hey, what're you doing with that-" The sound of a vase smashing roared throughout Rin's bedroom walls. Pieces of the shattered vase were scattered on Rin's bed and on her floor.

"Man that hurt…" The boy mumbled as he rubbed the top of his head. Rin was panting heavily as she remained standing. It took her a second before she realized what she had done.

"S-sorry about that…sometimes I lose my temper and I get a little…violent."

"A LITTLE?! YOU SMASHED A VASE ON MY HEAD!" The boy roared back at her.

"W-well it was your fault in the first place!" Calming down a little, the boy let out a sigh.

"I know…I was just trying to crack that rock hard shell of yours. Loosen up a little, have some fun. I got a got a second chance, a chance to live an actual life, so I know what's at stake here, but if you don't have fun once in a while then you'll never really experience life. Tell me, how many friends do you have?"

"I don't see how this is relevant at all!"

"Just answer the question."

"I-I have tons of friends!"

"Oh really? So if you were on your deathbed who's the one friend that would most certainly be there? Who are you afraid to hurt if you die in this war besides your family?"

"Just who do you think you are-"

"Look I'll drop it now because I don't want to start us off on the wrong foot, but I will continue to push you until you come out of that shell of yours. Don't be so serious all the time, have a little fun."

"You talk like you know all about me even though we've only known each other for about an hour! You don't know anything about me!"

"When I served as a master in that war, there was a girl that was a lot like you. She had the same attitude and everything. At first she acted just like you are now, but as the weeks went on, she cracked out of her shell a little and she became the most important person in the world to me."

"Then why don't you just find her! If she got out alive then she's probably in the world somewhere! Maybe you were just better off dead." Rin turned and stormed out of her room, leaving the boy there with those devastating last words.

The boy continued to remain seated on her bed, still thinking about what she had said to him.

_"Maybe you were just better off dead."_ Those words continued to play throughout his mind over and over again. He was staring down, into the cup of tea that he sad sitting between his legs. He then looked over to Rin's cup that was sitting on the table next to her bed. He stood up off of her bed and set his cup down next to hers.

"Looks like I really did it this time… I just wish that she knew that that girl…is her." He mumbled to himself. He started to walk out of her room, and once he was out, he dematerialized himself.

* * *

*AN* okay so bear with me, the logic in this is kind of sketchy, but that's just because I have no idea how to explain it so I apologize for that. Some things probably don't line up how they should, but just roll with it. I plan on following the Fate route of the VN which is pretty much the anime for those of you who haven't played it, of course there will be some changes considering that Archer has been replaced by the new guy, so events will change and not everything will be the same, but the general story will pretty much follow that path. Kind of. Maybe.


	2. Chapter 2

*AN* I do not own Fate/Stay night or Fate extra or any of the characters used in either one. Also, _if you see something written in Italics it's to show somebodies thoughts. _Just wanted to clear up any confusion.

Chapter Two

Clash of the Servants

About half an hour had passed since Rin stormed out of her room, leaving her servant there with harsh ending words. The boy left the room only to wander the streets of a city that was still unfamiliar to him. He had no idea where he was, or where he should even begin to start looking for her.

He walked through the empty streets constantly looking around, hoping for any sign that could help point to where Rin was. The night was fairly comfortable, not too cold, but not really humid, it was that nice medium temperature in between. The wind was calm on this night, the thin clouds slowly passing by in the sky. The moon was still shining brightly, reflecting its light onto the planet below.

"If only everything could go as perfect as the night is right now…then we wouldn't have any problems…" He mumbled to himself. He kept his hands tucked in his pants pockets as he continued to walk.

_Okay, I need to think…if I were Rin, where would I go? _And as he thought that, he stopped in his steps, and a small smile appeared across his face. "Of course…" He seemed to let out a soft chuckle as he looked up into the sky. "I need to get up high, someplace where I can get a good look of the city." He walked a few more steps until he was standing next to a very tall building, it was like a skyscraper. "Alright, time to see what this body can do!" As he finished his sentence, he bent his knees, and then jumped up into the air. Unfortunately for him though, he only went up a few inches and then fell back to the ground on his feet. "Wellllll that's embarrassing…guess I'll be taking the elevator." He walked up to the front door of the building and phased himself inside. He found his way to the elevator and took it up to the top floor, where he then had to find the stairs and climb the rest of the way to the rooftop.

Finally, once he was there, he walked over to the edge and looked out to the city that was before him. He scanned his head across the city, starting left and slowly turning his head to the right. He got about halfway through his turn when something far off in the distance caught his eye, it was the public high school.

"There it is…wait a minute, when did my vision get so good? Talk about 20/20…more like 60/20 if you ask me…" He paused his sentence and looked around him. "…I'm glad nobody else heard that…" He leaned over the edge once more, and then took a deep breath. He forced his body up onto the ledge and looked down below him. "Alright, let's try this again." This time, he jumped from the edge of the roof top, and his body seemed to be like a feather. He gracefully moved through the air, as though gravity didn't even affect him. He jumped from roof top to rooftop, until eventually he made it onto the school's rooftop. His feet landed with a quiet thud as he began to walk across the rooftop. He looked around again, and on the other side of the rooftop, looking out over the edge, was Rin.

"I thought I'd find you here," He said to her as he began to walk in her direction. Rin looked over her shoulder for a second and then looked back out to the city.

"I didn't think you'd find me," Rin replied, keeping her voice just as study as always. She showed little to no emotion in her voice as she spoke.

"I know more about you than you think I do Rin." He was now standing next to her, leaning on the edge and staring out to the city as well.

"Heh, I doubt that, but nonetheless I am impressed you managed to get here in such a short amount of time. You know nothing about this city, yet you strolled up here like you've lived here your whole life."

"It's funny how that keeps happening huh?" He turned and smiled towards Rin. She looked back to him, but continued to show no emotion on her face. "Alright, look. I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I ju-"

"No, don't apologize. I've been thinking about what you said, and you're right. I don't have many friends, actually, I'm not even sure if I could call somebody more than just an acquaintance. And to you it may seem like I'm inside of a shell, but really it's just who I am."

"Come on, you can't tell me that you're a cold person all the time…even the darkest of days has a dawn you know." He continued to smile at her, trying to force some emotions out of her with his sarcasm.

"…Do you really think that I'm a cold person?" Rin's voice got a little quieter as she asked the question. The boy adjusted his position so that he was leaning against the ledge with his back, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"I like to believe that you're not, but you haven't shown me anything to really prove me wrong. I realize that I'm an idiot, but that's just who I am." He put emphasis on the 'I' in his statement.

"People at school have given me the nickname 'The ice queen', I guess I just never really let it bother me. I don't really care what they think, I get good grades, I've got a near perfect attendance, it doesn't matter what they think. They're all below me, so I shouldn't have to drag myself down to make friends like them."

"…Is that how you really think? That you're the queen of the school and everybody else is just peasants below you? Or is that what you tell yourself to help you sleep at night."

"You don't have a problem with speaking your mind, do you?" Rin let out a sigh as she turned to look at him. He let out a chuckle as she did.

"Not really, which is kind of why we're in this mess. Things were going so well…with the tea and the date and whatnot, but now I've gone and ruined it." He put a sarcastic frown on his face as he looked into Rin's eyes.

"It's not a date!" Rin shouted back flustered.

"I know, I just like seeing you blush. You actually look cute." He shot her a wink as he finished his sentence.

"Seriously…you…are so…annoying…" Rin gritted her teeth and clenched her hand into a fist.

"Oh extremely! And you get the luxury of being my master throughout this entire war!" He let out a laugh as he placed his hand on Rin's head, messing up the top of her hair a little. She quickly swatted his hand away, but not before a small smile crossed her mouth.

"Ugh, God…I was going to just sit and wait for you to turn your back, but this is just making me sick." Rin and her servant quickly turned their attention to the opposite side of the roof, where atop the ledge stood a man with dark blue hair and bright red eyes. He was outfitted in blue armor, and was wielding a red spear.

"Who are you!" Rin demanded, yelling at whoever this person was.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He snapped back. He leaped off the ledge and onto the ground of the rooftop, griping his hands on his spear. Rin's servant stepped out in front of her, ready to protect her at all cost.

"Stay back, let me handle this," He told her.

"Be careful, he must be a servant, and judging by his weapon I would bet that he's a Lancer."

"Relax, I got this."

"Are you kidding? You don't even know what class you are, how do you plan on fighting him without knowing your combat style? If you run up there thinking you're a Saber, and you're really a Castor, you'll get torn to shreds!" A smile came across the boy's face as he turned his head over his shoulder.

"You know, a good friend of mine once told me that imagination is everything." After that, he turned his attention back to his opponent.

_Now let's just hope it works._

He held his arms out to his sides, and opened the palm of his hands, not breaking eye contact with his enemy. In a matter of seconds, two short swords appeared in his hands. One of them was white, and one of them was black. As the name suggests, they were small swords with a handle that was just big enough for him to grip. A very puzzled look came across Rin's face as she watched the blades materialize.

_Was that…projection magic? How in the hell can somebody like him learn that?_ The thought bounced around in her head as she continued to stare out in front of her. Her servant then twirled the blades around in his hands, and then tossed them in the air. When they came back down, he caught them in the opposite hand that he had thrown them in. Then, with a quick movement, he had dashed at Lancer. His feet were so quick, Lancer barely had time to raise his weapon to block. The sound of the two blades clashing against the spear rang throughout the air as the boy continued to deliver blow after blow onto the spear.

"You know, you're pretty good for somebody who doesn't know what class they're in," Lancer teased him as he continued to block the strikes of his blades. "But, not good enough!" Lancer put emphasis towards the end of his sentence as he made his first counter attack. He swung his spear horizontally in front of him, knocking the two blades out of the boy's hands. He then proceeded to follow up by thrusting the tip of his spear towards his chest. The boy quickly reacted to it and turned his shoulder towards the tip, causing the armor on his shoulder to shatter off. The spear grazed his shoulder still though, leaving a small cut that quickly began to bleed.

"Geez, I'm not sure who I should feel sorrier for…the master that summoned a servant as worthless as you, or you for being so weak." Lancer laughed as he gripped his spear once more and pointed it out in front of him.

"If I were you, I would spend less time insulting me, and more time concentrating on this fight." The boy smiled at Lancer deviously. Lancer quickly caught sound of something swirling through the air and took a leap backwards, narrowly escaping the two blades that had boomeranged back to the boy. He caught them by the handle in his hands and lowered them down to his sides.

"When did you do that?! I didn't even see you throw anything!" Lancer shouted in a rage.

"The force is strong with me," He replied with a smile still on his face. In the background, he could hear Rin let out a sigh.

"Even in a fight he still feels the need to be an idiot…" Rin mumbled.

"Just who in the hell are you?" Lancer asked, gritting his teeth with his spear still raised.

"You know, that's a good question. I wish I knew myself, but sadly, the information escapes me."

"Oh, you're a wise guy eh? I'll be sure to make your death especially slow." Lancer's grip on his spear grew even tighter.

"Bring it on," The boy smirked at Lancer. Then, in a quick burst, he shot up his arms and released his swords, planning to have them circle back to him again. The two went circling through the air towards lancer, and while they were doing that, the boy took charge at Lancer.

"The same trick won't work twice!" Lancer shouted, stepping back and swinging his spear like a bat, deflecting both the blades. But while doing so, he failed to block the attack that the boy had made rushing up the middle. Before Lancer could raise his spear again, the boy had punched him in the gut, causing him to cough out some spit. He then raised his leg and kicked Lancer towards the edge of the roof. Lancer stumbled backwards and tried to regain his balance as his back hit against the ledge. The boy was quick to capitalize though, landing one more powerful punch to the jaw of Lancer, sending him over the ledge and off the roof.

Rin and her servant both rushed over to the ledge and looked down, only to find that Lancer had landed on his feet and was staring back up at them. He had jumped backwards a little though, as to distance himself a ways from the school so he could avoid the projectile sword attacks.

"You got lucky kid, I'll die before that happens again!" Lancer shouted up to him.

"Then I guess this is where you die." The boy stood up on the ledge and held his arms out in front of him. He kept one arm straight and still while pulling one arm back towards him, like he was pulling on a bow. Then, in a matter of seconds, a bow materialized out of thin air in the boy's hand, getting ready to shoot an arrow that seemed like it was made out of nothing but energy. Just as quick as he drew the bow, he let it go.

But something was wrong.

As he let the bow go, his concentration was broken by the feel of another presence. Lancer must've felt it too considering that he wasn't even looking at the boy anymore, but that soon changed when the arrow flew past his head, creating a small cut on his cheek. Lancer quickly turned his attention back up to the roof.

"Don't think I'll miss again." The boy said staring down at Lancer.

"Don't think that you'll be able to hit me," Lancer replied. Then, both of their attention was shifted to a boy who was standing down next to the archery club. He was staring back at them as well. This boy had light red hair, and was outfitted in the boy's school uniform. He looked like a deer in the headlights as he remained frozen in his place, staring at the two servants.

"What?! The school is supposed to be empty! What is he doing here?!" Rin shouted. Finally, it seemed like reality had set back in on the boy as he quickly turned and started to run. He made his way to the school, but he was quickly pursued by Lancer.

"We need to go after him!" Rin shouted again.

"Why? You know the rules, if an outsider witnesses a clash between servants they must not be allowed to live…even Lancer knew this and put killing him above finishing our fight. We learned a great deal about our opponent, if we leave now we can avoid another confrontation."

"I know the rules! But still… I want to go after Lancer."

"I must ask you to reconsider-"

"If I have to use one I will." Rin raised up her hand that had her command seals on it. Seeing that Rin wasn't going to budge, her servant let out a sigh.

"…fine…if it is what you command than I will obey. Command seals are too precious to be wasted on a matter such as this. Let's go, if we hurry we might be able to stop Lancer." He walked over to the edge of the roof and extended his hand out to Rin.

"Thank you." Rin walked over to her servant and placed her hands on his shoulder, causing him to twitch a little. "I can't believe that I almost forgot you had gotten injured. Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just a small wound. It'll heal in no time." He placed one arm around Rin's waste and held on to her as he jumped off the roof. They glided down to the ground and landed softly. Rin removed her hands from his shoulder, and he removed his from her waist.

"Come on," Rin took off running in the direction that the other boy and Lancer had gone in. Her servant followed close behind her, keeping his sense of awareness strong, just in case Lancer was planning a surprise attack.

"Can you sense him?" Rin asked.

"It's faint, but yes. Once we get in the school, take a right and head down the hallway, then at the end take a left." Rin picked up her pace a little as she ran towards the school. She ran in through the doors, and followed the instructions that her servant had given her. While she was going down the hall, she turned her head over her shoulder to check on her servant, but he wasn't behind her.

* * *

Panting heavily, the red haired boy slid down the wall of the school and onto his butt.

_Who were those guys? Were they fighting? Wait a second…_ A flashback played in his mind about the news incident from earlier, and how the bodies seemed to have been killed by a long pole.

_Long pole…! _An image of Lancer's weapon then flashed in his mind. _Is he the one responsible for killing those people?_

"You sure can run a long ways in a short time, I'll give you props for that." A voice had spoken. The boy quickly turned his head, and standing in front of him was one of the guys he had seen earlier, and he was wielding a long spear. "I admire your effort to escape, so I'll make your death as quick and painless as I can." The man raised his spear and got ready to thrust it into the boy's chest. But seconds before it made contact, the tip of the spear was hit with an arrow, causing it to crash into the wall of the school instead. Lancer and the boy looked down the hallway, where there at the end was the other guy he had seen.

"What the hell..? Just what do you think you're doing?! You know the rules state that he isn't allowed to live!" Lancer yelled at him.

"I'm aware, but I'm under direct orders from my master, and I'm afraid that I can't let you kill this boy." He raised up his arms again, and another bow materialized with an arrow ready to fire. "Kid, go the end of the hallway behind me and take a right; you should meet up with a girl there. Go with her, she'll get you out of here." Lancer pulled his spear out of the wall and raised it out in front of him.

"And just why in the hell do you think that I'm going to let him leave?" Lancer asked with cockiness in his voice.

"Because I told you that I won't miss again. If you so much as twitch, I'll shoot you between the eyes. I have no intention of killing you at this point though, so if the boy leaves, then so do you." Remembering how accurate his shot was from the rooftop, Lancer took into consideration that he could actually be an Archer, and if that were the case, then indeed he wouldn't miss his mark. Lancer lowered his spear to his side as he stared down the hallway.

"Go kid," The boy told him. Even though he was extremely confused, he didn't hesitate to get the hell out of there. He stood up and ran down the hallway, passing by the guy who had saved him.

He followed that guy's advice and turned right at the end of the hall, where there in the middle running towards him was a girl.

"It's her..?" He mumbled as his movements came to a halt.

"It's you..?" Rin replied looking into the boys eyes. She shook her head to bring herself back to the matter at hand. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…I'm very confused but I'm fine."

"Are you being followed still?"

"No, the guy with the spear that was chasing me is pinned down by another guy with a bow around the corner behind me." Rin let a soft smile come across her face as he finished his sentence.

_He may be an idiot, but he does know how to get the job done…_ She let the though pass through her mind before turning back around.

"Come on, we should get out of here." Rin started to run back the way she had come, making her way to the front of the school. The red haired boy followed behind her.

"Can you tell me what's going on?"

"I'd love to, but unfortunately I can't. The only thing I can really tell you is that you're in danger if you stick around here. Once we're outside, I'll escort you home. You should try your best to forget what you saw tonight. I understand that that sounds like a ridiculous request, but it'd be in your best interest to do so."

"Are you serious?! I was almost killed and you can't tell me why?!"

"If I tell you anything more, then I'LL be the one that'll have to kill you. Just please try and let it go." The boy seemed to realize that Rin was being very serious about that, so for the time being he dropped it.

"…Fine. You're Rin Tohsaka right? I'm Shirou-"

"Emiya, I know who you are, and yes that's my name."

"Well, thanks for saving me. I suppose I owe you big time for this." Shirou let out a sarcastic laugh as he continued to follow her out the school building, and towards the front gate.

"Like I said, just try and forget about it." That was the last of their conversation as they approached the front gate of the school.

* * *

"Heh, you're not half bad. I take back what I said about you being worthless, you must have some kind of skill to pin me in a corner like this," Lancer said. Once the boy was gone around the corner, he lowered his arms and the bow vanished into the air.

"Please, don't flatter me," He replied sarcastically.

"As if. Well then, if you don't mind I think I'll take my leave." Lancer kept his spear at his side as he turned around.

"I'm a man of my word, I won't stop you." Lancer let out a chuckle as he walked away.

"Either you're the biggest idiot in the world, or maybe you're actually a good person." Those were his last words before his body dematerialized.

With Lancer gone, he too dematerialized and made his way towards the front of the school. He rematerialized and stood next to the school gate, waiting for his master to head there as well. He leaned against the gate for a few minutes, but then eventually Rin and the other boy came into sight.

"There you are, is the kid alright?" He said looking towards Rin.

"He's fine. What about you? What happened with Lancer?"

"I let him go. I told him that if the kid left, he could leave too, and I'm a man of my word."

"Well…at least it's over with for now. I told him that I'd escort him home, so the sooner we do that, the sooner we can go home as well."

"Heh, an escort huh? Well alright."

"Who is this guy Tohsaka?" Shirou asked, finally speaking up.

"Him? Well…he's-"

"Call me Archer," He said interrupting Rin. A smile crossed his face as he looked to her, and then the boy.

"Thanks for saving me, if you hadn't shown up when you did, I'd be dead right now." Shirou smiled a sincere smile at Archer.

"You shouldn't be thanking me; it wasn't my idea to save you." And with that, he dematerialized himself, vanishing away into the air. Shirou looked to Rin, who was angrily looking to where her servant had been standing.

"C-come on!" Rin shouted, starting to walk away.

"Uhm…my house is this way," Shirou laughed.

"R-right…well go on, lead the way." Shirou laughed a little more, and then started to make his way towards his house.

"Say, where did he go anyways? He just kind of disappeared," Shirou asked.

"Archer? He's still here, he's just…"

"Hiding." Archer had completed the sentence for her.

"I really wish you could tell me more about all this, because it's all so confusing…"

"I don't think you'd believe me, even if I told you…just be lucky that for you, it's over. For some of us though…it's only the beginning…" Rin let her voice trail off as she ended her sentence.

The walk to Shirou's house was quiet, up until they were about a block away. While strolling down the street, there was a little girl walking towards them. She was quietly giggling to herself as she walked. When she walked past them though, she whispered something quite disturbing.

"You better hurry up and summon somebody mister, or you're going to die," her voice was so innocent and young that it was hard to believe that it was a threat. Both Rin and Shirou stopped walking and looked behind them, but the girl was gone.

"Who was that..? Was she talking to me..?" Shirou's voice was quiet as he asked the question.

"I-it was probably nothing. How much further is your house?"

"Just up the street, I can handle it from here. Again, thank you for saving me, I'll see you at school tomorrow?" He smiled at Rin.

"Y-yeah, probably."

"Goodnight Tohsaka." Shirou waved at her goodbye, and then began to head down the street to his house. Once he was around the corner, Rin called upon her servant.

"Hey," She said to her servant. He materialized himself and stood by her side.

"Yes?"

"First off, Archer? Are you certain?"

"Judging by my eyesight and my accuracy with weapons, I'm fairly certain."

"Well at least we know your class now…by the way, when we get home you have some explaining to do."

"About what?"

"Your weapons. You attack with a magic called projection right? Do you even know how advanced that is? How can somebody like you do that?"

"I'm not entirely sure, the feeling just came to me when we encountered Lancer. I was able to picture my old servant's weapons and then recreate them in my hands. I've never swung a sword, or shot a bow before in my life, but when I used those weapons, it was like all of the knowledge came with them."

"That's strange…I'm curious to know more, but for now there's something I want to do."

"Oh! Are we finally going on that date?" Archer smiled at her, acting like his old sarcastic self again.

"Seriously, it's not a date! And no, something about what that girl said is bugging me…" A flashback of her repeating those words played in both of their minds.

"_You better hurry up and summon somebody mister, or you're going to die." _

"I know what you mean. Something about her…just didn't sit right. I think it was the way she giggled. Whenever a child giggles it usually means they're up to no good…do you think she's a master?"

"I'm assuming so, but that's not what's bugging me…it was the fact that she was speaking to him."

"You said that there are seven servants in this war right? So additionally there must be seven masters…how many have been called upon?"

"Six."

"I see…"

"You see what's bugging me? There's no way a boy like him could possibly be a master though…he couldn't have any magus blood in him. He didn't even have the seal on his hand…but still…I want to stick around his place for a little bit."

"Why? If he summons a servant I'm not really up for another fight. I just got summoned in this world so my body isn't at full strength yet, I'm still a little dinged up from my fight with Lancer too."

"He'd be to clueless to actually have his servant attack us if he summons one, and plus I don't plan on fighting. That's only part of the reason I want to stick around. I'm sure that Lancer will come back to try and finish the job, and I want to see if he'll summon his servant then, or if he's just playing dumb about not knowing anything and he already has one."

"You said it yourself, he doesn't even have any seals, so there's no way he could already have one."

"Let's just wait and see…can you take us someplace where we can keep an eye on this place? Not too far away though just in case Lancer does end up killing him, we can take him by surprise and kill him here too."

"Leave it to me." Archer walked over to and turned his back to her. He bent his knees a little and told Rin to jump on his back.

"W-what?!"

"Come on, it's so much easier this way."

"F-fine, just watch where you put your hands. And don't jump to high, or go too fast, I'm wearing a skirt you know!"

"Yeah yeah, geez, such a girl…" Rin blushed as she hoped up onto Archer's back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he put his arms around her legs. "You ready?"

"J-just go." Archer smiled a little before he started to run. He ran in the direction that Shirou had gone and followed his trail to his house. Once he was there, he jumped up into a tree that was in his backyard and let Rin off.

"This spot should work well for you, I need to get a little farther away though otherwise Lancer will detect me instantly."

"H-hang on…I know a way to mask both of our presence's at once…" Rin blushed again as she said it. She looked away from Archer, not wanting to look into his eyes.

"Oh? Do tell."

"J-just sit down here." Rin pointed her finger at the branch, and Archer sat down, resting his back up against the trunk of the tree. Then, Rin sat down on his lap and leaned her head against his chest.

"W-what're you doing?" Archer asked. He was now blushing just as much as Rin.

"I-I'm able to mask my presence, and as long as we're close to each other I should be able to mask yours too. D-don't get any funny ideas though, or I'll drop you out of this tree faster than you got into it!"

"Heh, whatever you say." Archer leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes. "Let me know when things start happening."

"Now is not the time for a nap!"

"I'm not napping...just let me know alright?"

"If you're not napping then what are you doing?!"

"You'd hit me if I told you…"

"Just tell me!"

"No."

"Archer…" Rin's voice was getting angry.

"…I need to concentrate on my flow of blood if you get what I'm saying."

"ARCHER!" Rin shot her body up as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"What? You asked…"

"That is so disgusting…you really have no shame do you?"

"Not really." Rin let out a sigh as she let her head fall back into his chest. A loud thump was made when she did.

They sat in the tree for about fifteen minutes and nothing happened. Rin was about to say something, when Archer's body quickly moved. He threw one hand over Rin's mouth and the other one around her waist. He pulled her body close to him and pulled his legs back towards his body as well. The tree they were in started to rustle a little bit, then on the branch next to them appeared a body. It was Lancer.

"So this is where he lives huh? Not a bad place, but it seems awfully big for one person." Lancer didn't seem to notice the two of them, even though they were right next to him. Rin's trick must be working. Lancer jumped off the tree and landed in the back yard, making his way into Shirou's house.

Archer let go of Rin once Lancer was gone.

"You scared me half to death…warn me next time before you do that okay?" Rin told him.

"Sorry, I didn't have a lot of time to react. I didn't feel his presence until he was just a few feet away, so I just reacted quickly. It was the first thing that came to mind."

"It's alright, I'm glad you did otherwise I would've blown our cover." He couldn't really tell because of how dark it was, but it looked like she might of actually smiled at him. Before either of them could say anything else, the sound of glass shattering could be heard from Shirou's house. Shirou had jumped out of one of the windows and escaped to the backyard, heading for what looked like a shed. Lancer was following right behind him.

"Come on kid, just die already!" Lancer shouted. Shirou tried to get the door open to the shed, but it was locked for some reason. With nowhere to run, he turned around and stared Lancer in the eyes.

"It was a good run kid, but now it's over. Die!" Lancer thrust his spear at Shirou, but he was able to dodge. There were dents made in the door until eventually, the force of one of the thrusts knocked it down. Shirou fell backwards with the door, and he scurried backwards a little. Lancer followed him inside.

"Ready your bow Archer. When Lancer steps outside, take him out." Archer listened to his master and readied his bow. It was kind of hard to do while laying down, and with a girl on his lap, but he still managed to line up his shot.

Then there was a light that came from inside the building, and a few seconds later Lancer was thrown back outside.

"What the hell?!" Lancer shouted.

"Wait!" Rin commanded her servant. "Hold on a second, let's keep watching for now." Archer kept his weapon ready, but he didn't fire it. Next, a women came rushing out of the building. She had blonde hair, and was outfitted in a blue armored dress. She looked like she was gripping a weapon, but there was nothing there.

"Her weapon is invisible?" Archer whispered. Rin didn't give a reply, they both just continued to watch. The woman slashed her hands through the air and clashed her invisible weapon with Lancer's spear.

"Fighting with an invisible sword huh? Isn't that a little cheap?" Lancer's voice was strained as he tried to fight off the oncoming attacks.

"How do you know my weapon is a sword? It could be an axe. Or a spear like yourself." The women gave a bold response; her voice was very study and firm. Shirou had made his appearance outside as well, standing a distance behind the women.

"I doubt it…tsk, I didn't want to have to do this, but if my opponent is a Saber class, then I have to choice!" Lancer twirled his spear around in his hands as it started to glow red.

"Saber be careful!" Shirou shouted at the women. She didn't break eye contact with Lancer though.

"Gae…Bolg!" Lancer shouted, attacking the ground with his spear. The tip of his spear seemed to ricochet off the ground though, and was heading at Saber. With little to no time to act, she was barely able to move herself. The attack split the armor that was on her shoulder causing her to bleed a little.

"I'm impressed you dodged that," Lancer smirked at her.

"That weapon…" Saber mumbled.

"I hate using that attack, I run the risk of exposing myself every time I do…"

"There's only one person that can wield a spear like that and call upon the Gae Bolg…Cu Chulainn." Saber spoke with confidence as she identified Lancer.

"The rules state that since you figured out my identity, we're supposed to fight to the death; but unfortunately I'm under orders to strictly gather information only, so I'll be leaving now." Lancer turned to walk away, but Saber was quick to chase after him.

"Saber wait!" Shirou shouted. Saber stopped in her tracks and turned around, giving Lancer the edge he needed to escape.

"Should I go after him?" Archer asked.

"No, not right now."

"Are you sure? He's been weakened by his fight with me and Saber, if I go now I can surly kill him."

"I'm sure you could but…Lancer won't be a problem for a while, but this Saber class on the other hand…"

"I see your point..."

"Shirou! Why did you let him get away! I could have easily killed him!" Saber yelled at him.

"Why do you want to kill him?! Why is everybody trying to kill each other? What is going on!"

"What kind of foolish question is that! This is the Holy Grail war is it not?"

"What? Holy Grail war? What are you talking about!" Saber was about to retaliate again, when she was able to detect the presence of Archer and Rin.

"Shirou, the fight isn't over yet! What are your orders?" Saber faced towards the tree that they were in and held her hands out in front of her, gripping her sword.

"Looks like we're busted," Archer mumbled.

"Looks like it."

"What should we do? If I shoot the boy, it might give us enough time to escape."

"No…just follow me." Rin jumped down out of the tree and landed on the ground, Archer followed behind her.

"Tohsaka? What are you doing here? Why were you in that tree?" Shirou asked confused.

"Shirou she is our enemy! That boy behind her is her servant, we should strike quickly and eliminate them!" Saber replied.

"Servant? I still don't know what you're talking about!"

"Easy, easy, we don't want to fight." Rin stated. Archer kept his hands at his sides, as did Rin to show that they were serious. Saber kept a firm hold on her position though.

"If not to fight, then why are you here?" Saber demanded.

"I just want to talk is all. It appears your master is as clueless as my servant was, so I thought I could explain to him what's going on."

"Your orders master?" Saber looked to Shirou.

"Look, stop calling me master…Shirou works just fine…and put down your weapon, we can trust her. She saved my life earlier today." Shirou smiled a soft smile at her. Even though she didn't want to, Saber lowered her weapon. "So Tohsaka, can you tell me what's going on now?"

"Yes…yes I can."

*AN* well this is the second chapter, as you can tell things are slightly different but generally the same. This is what i meant by that...so please leave a review and give me some feedback so i can make improvements. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

A long night

"Shirou I must have you reconsider this choice, they are our enemies and could strike at any time, they could only be luring you in by pretending to be friendly." Saber showed extreme caution towards the situation. Rin and Archer remained where they were standing, not wanting to provoke Saber's suspicions even more.

"I need answers though! And she's willing to give them to me. She said that she didn't want to fight, so I'll take her word for it…besides, if they wanted us dead they would have killed us already." Shirou looked to Rin hoping to find a reassuring smile or something, but she showed no signs of emotion, none good or bad.

"I'm just offering help as of now. You're servant is right, we are enemies, and sooner or later we will have to clash, but for now, we're neutral. My servant is getting exhausted, and you have no idea what you're doing so there really isn't a reason for us to fight at this point in time." Rin spoke her words bluntly, but sincerely. Saber still didn't want to take any chances though as she moved closer to Shirou.

"If what you say about my master is true, then I will inform him of what is going on. We do not need assistance from you." Saber glared at Rin, gripping the handle of her sword.

"Saber! Knock it off! Just let them help us for now. So far, it's just you and me, and however perfect you may think that is, I'm totally clueless as to what is going on, so if more people are willing to help than just let them."

"But Shirou-"

"No buts…please." Saber was still uneasy about it, but finally she let her guard fall and the tension in the air was gone.

"So we're at an agreement then? This night we're at peace with each other?" Rin asked looking at Shirou, and then to Saber.

"Right," Shirou replied. Rin looked back at Saber, who simply just gave a head nod.

"Good…then I'd like you to follow me. I'm going to take you to somebody who can fully explain to you rules and answer some questions that you may have. I'll fill you in on the way there about the basics of what's going on, but he'll be able to provide much more detail." Rin took a few steps towards Shirou, putting on a friendly demeanor.

"Where are we going?" he asked her.

"We're going to go see an acquaintance of mine at the church; his name is Kirei Kotomine." As she spoke the name, Archer seemed to twitch a little.

_Kotomine…? No, it couldn't be…but…then again… _Archer stood there in thought as the two carried on.

"The church? You're kidding right?"

"Just follow me." Rin turned around and began to head back toward the street. She didn't get too far though when she heard Archer call out to her.

"If you don't mind, I think I might wander off for a bit, see if I can learn anything more about Lancer. Little miss here identified him during their brief fight, so I think I'll go see if I can research him a little," Archer spoke up, still standing in the same spot.

"You're not coming?" Rin asked him, a hint of disappointment in her voice. She tried to cover it with the feeling of worry, but didn't do a very good job.

"I trust that our connection with each other is strong, so should you be in any danger I'll be alerted immediately. If something were to happen and you need me right away, you can always summon me with a command seal too. Besides, you'll have his servant there with you as well."

"If that's what you want to do. I won't argue, just don't go too far in case I do need you. I would really hate to have to use a command seal to summon you."

"Don't worry, I'll stick close. By the way, is there a library somewhere around here?"

"Of course. There's one in the school, and there's another one that's uptown. If you look around long enough you should find it."

"Excellent…" As he closed his sentence, he dematerialized himself, fading away into the night.

"He sure is a rowdy one, isn't he?" Shirou let out a little chuckle as he followed Rin out to the street.

"You have no idea…I've only known him for a few hours and he's already annoyed me beyond all hell…but still, nonetheless, I'm glad he's around. His humor takes a while to get used too though; I'm still not used to it myself."

"You two seem to get along well though, so that must be a good thing."

"Like is said, we've only know each other for a few hours…but yes I suppose that for now we are getting along. So what about your servant? Do you know anything about her?"

"Well I-"

"Shirou! That's enough. Remember, she is our enemy. There's no reason to reveal anything about me to her." Saber spoke up angrily.

"Geez, lighten up Saber. Besides, I don't know anything about you that I could tell her except that your name is Saber."

"Even so, I think that it would be foolish to tell her anything. She is only our ally for this one night, the fact that her servant just left to go gather information on Lancer should be proof that they'll use anything they know about us to their advantage."

"What is your-" Shirou was cut off by Rin as he went to retaliate.

"It's fine Shirou. I understand her concerns, so it's understandable that she be uneasy about this. It's best that you two get to know each other soon though, the more you know about each other the stronger your connection becomes, and the better off you'll be in a fight. I guess I'm not really one to talk though, since I still don't know a lot about Archer, but even by just watching him and being around him, it's taught me a lot." Shirou gave a look to Saber who was walking on his right side. He was the middle man, and Rin was on his left.

"You know, it would probably be best to have your servant dematerialize while we're walking through the streets like this," Rin said.

"Dematerialize..?" Rin looked to him with annoyance.

"You're kidding right? It's when your servant reverts back to their spirit form. Most servants have two different forms, a spirit form and a physical form. They usually revert to spirit form to help mask their presence and to help conserve mana, while they usually take physical form to fight in a battle."

"I see…that must be what Archer had done just now when we left, and earlier when we were at the school."

"Correct. It isn't a hard concept to grasp it is?" Sarcasm was present in her voice.

"Hey now, I'm not as stupid as I think you're making me out to be."

"I don't ever believe a said anything about it." Rin's sarcasm was still present as she continued to tease him.

"Whatever…anyways, can you dematerialize Saber?" Shirou looked to his servant.

"I…I cannot." Saber looked away from Shirou as she spoke.

"What? Why not?"

"It is because my master is not…experienced."

"Just what do you mean by that?!"

"She's saying that since you're hardly a magus, the magic circuits that should usually help a servant thrive, are either missing or extremely weak," Rin said, joining the conversation.

"So you're saying it's my fault? And what do you mean magic circuits?"

"Yes and no…it's difficult to explain. To try and sum things up, since you haven't reached full potential as a magus, Saber hasn't reached full potential as a servant."

"Is that true Saber?" Shirou turned his attention from Rin back to his servant.

"…yes. She speaks the truth; however I do not think that it will be a problem. I have more than enough strength, I'll will be just fine." Saber continued to speak boldly and confidently. Shirou smiled at her with relief.

"Just because she speaks with confidence, doesn't mean you should push that from your mind. It is a serious issue even though she makes it seem like it's not." Rin crossed her arms as she continued to walk. She seemed like she was getting frustrated with Saber.

"How much father to the church?" Shirou asked, noticing the growing tension between the two.

"Not much…just a few more blocks." Rin picked up the pace a little, as did Saber and Shirou. The three continued to make their way towards the church, making casual small talk the rest of the way.

* * *

Meanwhile, while the three were proceeding to the church, Archer was off trying to gather information. He had made his way towards uptown, figuring that the public library would have more books than the ones at the school. He was making his way from rooftop to rooftop, constantly scanning the area below, keeping a sharp eye out for the library.

_Come on, it can't be THIS hard to find a library…you think there'd be a sign or- _ As the thought was passing through his mind, he noticed a sign that was down the road. On it read, 'public library' with an arrow pointing to the right.

"Oh look. A sign." Archer sighed as he followed the direction of the arrow. He only had to leap across a couple more rooftops before he was standing atop the library.

"There, that wasn't so bad. It only took me about twenty minutes to find it…" He let out another sigh as he jumped down to the street. Once he was down, he phased himself into the building. The lights were off inside, making it slightly difficult to see, but it wasn't impossible. He assumed the building was closed as he wandered into what seemed to be the lobby. There were couches galore spread across the floor, along with a few comfortable looking recliners. Behind the couches and chairs, were rows and rows of book. There was also a set of stairs leading up to another floor of books, and a set of stairs leading downwards to even more books.

"If I can't find anything here then I might as well just quit now…this place is huge! Maybe there's a computer around here or something…" Archer continued to walk around, hoping to find a computer sitting out where he could type in information and get a list of search results. He was wandering around in the lobby still, when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Heh, it's funny how many times we've run into each other today," The voice said. Archer summoned his swords as he turned around. He scanned the area behind him, but it was so dark inside he could barely see anything. He took a few steps forward, keeping his swords at the ready. He raised them up to block when he sensed the attack of the enemy coming at him. His swords managed to block the sloppy attack that was made. With the enemy now only a few feet away from him, he was able to recognize them instantly. It was Lancer.

"What are you doing here?" Archer asked pushing Lancer's spear off of his swords.

"I would imagine the same thing you're doing. Information hunting am I right?" Lancer raised his spear out in front of him.

"I find running into you here more than just a coincidence. You were waiting for me, weren't you?" Archer smiled a little as he dropped his swords, causing them to vanish into thin air. He raised his hands up again and his bow materialized. The arrow that was created by the bow lit up the place a little, making it easier for him to see.

"Welllll aren't you just a little cocky, drawing your bow in such a dark place like this. You really think that you can kill me with that, don't you?" Lancer let out a laugh as he lowered his spear. He then extended his arms out to his sides and smiled at Archer. "Come on then, hit me with your best shot." Archer smiled back at Lancer, and then let go of the bow. The arrow went flying towards Lancer, aimed right at his head. The shot was golden, but somehow, Lancer was able to dodge it perfectly. With a simple tilt of his head, the arrow went grazing past him, putting a decent sized hole in the wall behind him a ways.

"What the…" Archer mumbled, in shock that Lancer dodged it so easy. He raised his bow again, and shot two arrows. This time, Lancer swung his spear, and was able to deflect them both.

"And to think I was actually worried about these arrows…I guess I psyched myself out thinking that you had arrows like those…" Lancer chuckled to himself as he threw his spear out in front of him violently, signaling a challenge to Archer. "Come on! If that's all you got then you'll die here."

_There's no way that he could dodge those so easily…they fly faster than a bullet but he swung at them like they were slow pitched softballs. _Archer put his bow down, realizing that arrows weren't working and spawned his swords back in his hands.

"So, finally giving up with the arrows huh? It's about time you learned. I must admit however, that I am impressed than you also have decent fighting ability with swords as well…first I've heard of that actually, but no matter. You'll die all the same!" As Lancer finished his sentence, he lunged at Archer. The tip of his spear clashed with the swords as Archer blocked his attack. Lancer took a few jumps backwards and disappeared into the darkness of the building.

_Not good, I can barely sense people as it is…this darkness isn't helping that situation at all…if I continue to fight in the dark like this, I'll die._ Archer looked around, keeping his senses sharp, waiting for Lancer to strike. While waiting for Lancer, he was also thinking of a way to either light the place up inside, or to get Lancer to follow him outside where the fight would be even. With the slightest sense of movement, Archer was able to raise his swords and repel an attack made by Lancer from the shadows. The spear clashed with the blades, and then was pulled back. Since Lancer's weapon was a spear, he had length on his side. He could stay a fair distance in the shadows while still making a fatal strike.

"Not bad, but how long can you keep it up!" Lancer said, making another thrust at Archer. Archer's reflexes this time were just a little slower, and the spear was able to run up his arm and graze him in the same shoulder that had been hit earlier. Archer let out a muffled grunt as the attack hit him and dropped him to a knee.

_Dammit! He was able to hit me…I'm getting sloppy. My mana levels are getting low, I need to either finish this or retreat from here quickly._ Archer raised his head and looked around him, and then above him. _I wonder…_ His thoughts were soon interrupted by another lunge from Lancer, this one only a few inches away from his head. The only reason he missed was because Archer heard his footsteps closing in at the last second and moved his head.

Having an idea in mind, Archer quickly stood to his feet and took charge at the place where Lancer had attacked from. He took Lancer by surprise and was able to crash his blades down onto his spear with the leverage advantage. He pushed down on his blades with all his might until Lancer's balance was broken and he stumbled backwards a little. Archer capitalized with a kick to the gut, knocking Lancer away from him. Archer then jumped backwards and looked up to the ceiling. He quickly drew his bow as he was falling through the air, and shot four arrows up into the ceiling. The arrows were stuck in the ceiling, and they were giving off a light like they were a chandelier. The inside of the library lit up, making the darkness fade away. Archer slid onto his back as he fired the arrows, but then soon hopped back up onto his feet. Lancer was standing a fair distance away from him as he too had to regain himself.

"Heh, not bad…using your arrows as a light. Pretty smart." Lancer smirked at Archer who was panting heavily. "But it seems like you're getting low on mana, so this fight is just about over…" Lancer started to slowly make his way to the weary Archer. As he got closer, Archer started to chuckle a little.

"If you think that this is over…" Archer raised his arms at formed another bow, with the arrow aimed at Lancer. "Then you're sadly mistaken!" Archer let the bow go, but there was something different about this arrow. There was a long tail of light flowing behind it, like it was cutting through light itself. Lancer tried to dodge the arrow, but he was unable to dodge it completely. The arrow pierced Lancer's shoulder, sending him flying backwards, being carried along with the arrows momentum. Lancer was taken to the opposite side of the library and pinned to the wall.

_What the hell! He hit me?! _Lancer pulled the arrow out of his shoulder, but as he did, it disappeared into the air. Blood started to slowly flow out of his shoulder where the arrow had hit him as he gripped his spear with anger.

"Just who in the hell are you? Nobody should be able to hit me with any projectile, but you've managed to graze me not once, not twice, but three times…this one actually piercing my armor and my skin." He gritted his teeth as she took a few steps towards Archer who still had his bow drawn.

"I see…you must have some sort of protection from projectiles then…but then, why? Earlier when I had you pinned down in the school, if you could dodge my arrows so easily, then why didn't you just kill that boy?"

"Hmph, like I need to explain myself to you. I think we've fought enough for today, we'll finish this some other time." Lancer put his spear back to side as he started to head out the library. He made his way to the front of the library, and then his body dematerialized and he disappeared back into the darkness. Once Lancer was gone Archer dropped his bow and then fell backwards, landing onto his back.

"This…is getting…ridiculous…" Archer groaned as he panted a little. Archer closed his eyes as he lay on the floor on the library, but then a sudden flash of energy crossed his mind.

_Archer!_ That serge of energy was a voice that was calling to him. It was Rin. Archer stood to his feet as quick as he could, and then stormed out of the library.

_I'm on my way Rin, I'll be there soon! _Archer jumped from roof to roof, making his way to Rin as fast as he could.

* * *

Rin, Shirou, and Saber had just finished their meeting with Kotomine and were heading back to Shirou's house when a familiar little giggle stopped them in their tracks.

"Hehehe, it sure is nice to see you all again," The voice said innocently. The little girl that they had passed earlier on the way to Shirou's was staring them down at the end of the street they were on. She stood so innocently in her purple top and white skirt, her blond hair hanging just past her shoulders. Rin and Shirou stepped back, away from the girl while Saber stepped out in front.

"It's you again!" Shirou shouted, pointing his finger at her.

"Hi mister, I see you summoned your servant; that's good. I didn't want to have to kill you without you at least having your servant." The little girl replied with a giggle.

"Hey Tohsaka, is she another master?"

"I would assume so. If she knows about servants then it would be a good assumption," Rin replied.

"If she is a master, then we should eliminate her now! Just give me the order and I will cut her down master," Saber said, readying her sword.

"Wait, hold on a second Saber! Even if she is a master, she's just a child!" Shirou reached out to Saber as to try and stop her.

"Hehe, you're funny mister. It's a shame that I'll have to kill you." The little girl smiled as she looked at him. Then, coming from the shadows behind the girl, appeared a giant human figure. It had one glowing red eye, and one normal one. It wielded a giant stone sword in its hand, the blade was sharp and ridged though, like an axe.

"W-what…is that?" Shirou mumbled, in shock of the towering creature that stood before them.

"It must be her servant," Rin replied, her voice now a little quieter than usual as well. The mighty creature took a step forward towards the three, but was stopped when an arrow came flying at him and hitting him in the chest. The arrow went flying though the gap between Rin and Shirou's heads and then impacting on the creature. The arrow had little to no effect though, except stopping his movements for a second. Rin and Shirou turned around to find Archer on a rooftop down the street. Archer was quick to move though, eventually claiming his place at his master's side.

"Are you alright?" He asked Rin.

"I'm fine, what about you?" Rin looked at him and noticed his armor was a little more dinged up than it had been, and that he was panting heavily.

"I'm fine…my body is at its limit though. I encountered Lancer again when I was out and my confrontation with him drained me of the last of my strength."

"You idiot! If you encountered Lancer, why didn't you just run away?! You didn't have to fight him by yourself!" Rin scolded him, but he knew it was just because she was worried.

"It's a long story that I can share with you later, but for now it seems we have a friend." Archer and Rin shifted their attention to the little girl what must be her servant.

"Awww, it looks like your servant is out of energy; that's no fun, no fun at all! Poor berserker here won't even get a chance to warm up." The girl put a pouty expression on her face as she crossed her arms. Her servant never said anything, but his intimidation factor spoke for him.

"Just as I thought…her servant is a berserker…this isn't good." Rin's voice started to show a little panic.

"I am suggesting that we retreat. I'm in no condition to fight, even if I team up with Saber, we would still lose. To stand against a berserker is a feat of its own, but to attempt to do it in poor condition is just plain suicide." Archer made certain that he wanted nothing to do with berserker at this point in time.

"…I agree. Shirou, I suggest you tell your servant to back down as well." Shirou looked from Rin to Saber who was still standing at the ready, locking eyes with the enemy servant.

"Hehehe you guys are all funny. I didn't plan on fighting today anyways; it just so happened that we crossed paths. So, I'll tell you what; you can walk away today, but next time we meet, I will kill you. Bye bye! Have a pleasant night." And with the end of her sentence, she and her servant turned and walked away. Once they were out of sight, Archer dropped down to one knee, still panting heavily.

"Archer! Are you alright? What's wrong?" Rin asked, kneeling down next to him.

"I'm fine, relax," Archer paused and placed a hand on Rin's head. "I just need to rest is all." He stood back up on his feet and removed his hand from her head.

"Then we should head home…we've had quite the day, I can imagine that you're tired. You've had three run ins with Lancer, and a close call with a berserker." Rin placed Archer's arm around her shoulder as she helped him balance himself. "You guys should go straight home too; we got lucky in avoiding a fight with her now, but who's to say she won't change her mind and come back."

"You have a point..." Shirou made his way towards Saber. "Come on, let's go home Saber." Saber looked to Shirou and then back behind him to Rin.

"Very well then…let us go." Saber began to walk away, and Shirou followed behind her.

"Goodnight Tohsaka, for real this time." Shirou smiled at her as they walked way. Rin smiled back for a second, and then turned her head towards the weary Archer that was using her as support.

"Come on, let's go." Rin's voice was soft as she began to head towards her house with Archer leaning on her shoulder. "Once we get back I should be able to replenish your mana levels, after that you should be fine."

"Can it wait until morning? I'm so unbelievably tired…" Archer let his voice trail off as he finished his sentence. Rin looked to him, and she could see he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I suppose it can wait, but not too long though. I do have school in the morning and I plan on taking you with me, and I'll need to do it sometime before we leave."

"Awwww come onnnnnn, why do I have to go? I thought I was done wish school…"

"Quit complaining, I'll need you with me just in case I should happen to encounter another servant or master."

"But isn't there a lot of people at school? An attack on a master while they're in school seems unlikely-"

"But not impossible. I don't want to take any chances." Archer let out a sigh.

"Geez, you're as stubborn as I am, it's no wonder we got paired together…" Rin let a soft smile come across her face. They didn't say anything else the rest of the way to Rin's house, it was a quiet walk. When they got to her house, she walked him up the stairs and back into her room. He freed himself from Rin's support and sat down on her bed.

"I'm going to take a shower, feel free to pass out anytime. There's a couch downstairs you could use if you want, or you can sleep on the floor in here, I don't really care." Archer chuckled a little as he continued to stare at the floor.

"Shouldn't we clean this up first?" Rin followed his vision, and noticed that there were still broken pieces of the vase scattered across the floor. Another smile crossed her face.

"I almost forgot…yeah, I'll clean it up when I'm done with my shower, don't worry."

"Just don't step on any, because if you think that I'll be the one taking it out of your foot you got another thing coming."

"What's the matter, squeamish?" Rin teased him.

"Just the idea of picking shards out of somebodies foot creeps me out…like what if you pull one out and a fountain of blood just bursts into your face?" Rin shuttered a little as the thought of that happening crossed her mind. "Creepy right?"

"Whatever, I'm going to shower now." Rin turned and left her room, leaving Archer on her bed.

"Let's see…she said I could sleep on the couch downstairs…or the floor in her room…yeahhhh I'm going to have to go with…no…" As he said it he lay backwards on her bed and closed his eyes.

Quite a few minutes had passed before Rin came back into her bedroom. She was now wearing her pajamas, and her hair had been pulled out of her twin tails. She came back in with a small dustpan and a small broom to sweep up the broken shards that were scattered on the floor. She let out a deep sigh when she saw that Archer had passed out on her bed.

"I had a feeling this would happen…" She bent down and began to sweep up the shards. It only took her a matter of seconds, and when she was done she walked over to the trashcan she had in her room and dumped the broken vase pieces in it. After that, she walked back over to her bed and sat down and looked at the sleeping Archer that was lying on her bed.

"Hey," She said nudging him a little. His body gave no response. "Heyy." She tried again, this time shaking him a little. His eyes slowly opened and he turned his head so he was looking at her.

"…what?" He asked, his voice very sleepy.

"I can't very well get into my bed with you lying across it like this." Archer didn't do anything at first, he just laid there and looked at her.

"You put your hair down," He said with a smile going across his face.

"Huh? Yeah, I usually do when I go to sleep. Something wrong with that?" She placed her hands on her hair where the ribbons usually were.

"Not at all, in fact I kind of like it better this way." Archer sat up on her bed, and then after a couple more seconds, he proceeded to stand. Rin sat and watched him, unsure of how to take his previous statement. Archer looked back at her, the tiredness in his eyes still very prominent.

"…well?" He said, growing a little impatient.

"Well what?" She replied a little clueless.

"Are you going to get in your bed or not?" Rin smiled and pulled the covers up on her bed. She tucked herself underneath them and then rested her head on her pillow. Once she was settled in, she felt something lay across her feet. Archer had laid right back down in the same spot.

"W-what are you doing?!" Rin asked, blushing a little.

"Your bed is comfy, can't I just sleep here?" Archer's voice started to doze off, as did his body.

"I-if you sleep there, you're going to put my feet to sleep! You'll have to move somewhere else." Rin said that expecting him to move to the floor, but she was wrong.

"Fine then, geez." Archer moved himself next to her and tucked himself underneath the blankets as well.

"T-that is not what I meant by move!" Rin's face was now exceptionally red as his body was only mere inches away from hers.

"Just shut up and go to sleep," Archer rolled over on his side and faced his back towards her. Rin gave up trying to fight him and she too rolled over on her side. As she closed her eyes, she heard Archer say one last thing to her.

"Goodnight Rin."

*AN* And so closes chapter 3...please keep leaving reviews and general thoughts, they are much appreciated! Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

A Day with Archer

The night was quiet as Archer lay asleep in a deep slumber. During his slumber though, he felt like he was having a dream, the setting of this dream was the same as the flashbacks he had had earlier. He was back in that classroom standing across from his old servant who was sitting in his throne of desks.

"You're doing a lot better than I thought," his servant said smiling at him.

"This place…" was all Archer could mutter back. He looked around, remembering every detail about this room like he was just there. The sunlight shining through the glass windows of the school, the way the desks were arranged for Archer's throne, the place where he sat to communicate with him. It all felt so familiar.

"Like it? I thought this would be an appropriate setting."

"What? Is this a dream?"

"Heh, you wish. It may feel like a dream, but it's not."

"Then what is it?"

"It's your inner self, your mind, your subconscious, whatever you want to call it. It's just easier to do this while you're sleeping, so it's understandable why you may think it's a dream."

"How in the hell did you end up here? Why are you here?"

"It's…a long story. I can see that you adapted quickly to Kanshou and Bakuya, as well as being a master marksman."

"What..?"

"The swords. Those are their names."

"Oh, well that's- wait, don't try and change the subject! Tell me how and why you're here." His servant let out a sigh.

"As persistent as ever…if it wasn't obvious, I'm here to help you. It seems that you've been drug into another world, an alternate universe from the one that we were in."

"Well no shit Sherlock, I can see that. But that still doesn't tell me how you're here. Not only did I die, but like you said I'm in a completely different world, how are you inside my mind?"

"A servant never leaves their master." His servant smiled at him. Archer smiled back even though he was still confused.

"But…aren't you free now? The war is over, I'm no longer your master."

"Look at your hand." He pointed at his left hand. Archer raised his arm and looked at his hand, and on it was his final command seal. "As long as you have that seal, you are my master."

"I can't believe I still have this…and even more I can't believe I didn't see it…"

"Well it's kind of hard to see through those gauntlets you wear, so I can't blame you for not noticing." Hearing this, Archer examined himself and noticed that he wasn't in his armor anymore. He was wearing the school uniform he wore when he was fighting in his war.

"I didn't notice my outfit change either, I guess under my armor I'm not anything more than a school boy huh?" Archer let out a chuckle after he spoke. "What happened after I approached the grail..?" The atmosphere inside the projected classroom changed, it was almost saddening. Archer's eyes looked towards the ground, like he didn't want to know.

"…I went in after you, tried to give you as much time as possible in there to fulfill whatever wish your heart desired. It was the least I could do since I didn't really do much for you throughout the war."

"Don't say that, you did plenty…but why? Why did you go after me? You didn't have to get yourself killed to give me time."

"Does it look like I died? I'm still here aren't I? I'm just here inside you is all."

"But-"

"Look, I'll be honest with you. I have no idea how I ended up here, but I'm part of you now. When you draw power, you draw it from me. You're knowledge of bows and of those blades came from me, the way you fight, the way you shoot, your ability to use projection magic, it all comes from me. Anything combat related draws power from me."

"So then…if my combat comes from you…am I really from the Archer class?"

"That's a good question…I've been thinking about that too…and I've decided that yes you are."

"How do you know?"

"Because I decided to test that theory…in your last fight with Lancer, do you recall that final arrow you shot at him?"

"Sort of...the one that pierced his armor right?"

"Yes…before you shot that arrow I cut off my mana supply from you. That's why you grew so tired all of a sudden. That arrow you fired was one of your own, but what was most interesting was how you were still able to use projection…even without me you were able to project a bow and fire it with amazing accuracy. Only an Archer class could shoot like that."

"I see…"

"Well, I suppose I've kept you for too long. I should let you get back to reality; you have school in the morning." His servant teased his with a laugh.

"Shut up! You're inside me, so you have to go too genius."

"But I have the option of not paying attention…and plus, inside here I can make anything reality…it's actually a lot of fun, so when you're not fighting I'm here doing whatever I feel like."

"You sound like you're in heaven…"

"I might as well be." The two shared a brief laughter before Archer started to stare at the command seal that was left on his hand.

"…what happens after I use this?"

"Then I'll disappear…I'm here because you have that. I won't vanish right away though as a perk of being an Archer class servant, but I won't be able to stay for too long."

"You say it like it's no big deal, what will I do when you're gone? If you're giving me strength when I fight, if you're gone then what?"

"Then you'll have to fight for yourself, it's as simple as that."

"You're always so blunt about things…"

"Like you have room to talk…I've heard some of your conversations…and that reminds me, is she..?"

"I'm not sure…she has the same name, she acts the same, but it's not the same girl…it can't be, that girl is in another world…"

"You seem to care for her just the same, even if she is different." Archer looked away from his servant, avoiding eye contact.

"I…I just want her safe. Even if my wish did come true, and that girl got out safely, this one is still in danger. Even if they're not the same person, I'll still protect her with my life. It is my job as a servant." His servant closed his eyes and smiled.

"You haven't changed a bit…it's good to see that your personality carried over, but really now. Time to go; if you ever want a chat, you know where I am. Like I said, it's easiest to do it when you're sleeping, but you don't always have to."

"Hold on! I still have more questions for you!"

"Save them for later, see ya around." And with that, it was all over and Archer awoke from his slumber. He sat up in the bed and looked over to Rin who was still sleeping soundly. She must have rolled over in the night since her back was no longer turned to him, now it was her face. He got out of the bed and made his way over to the window that was a few steps away. He looked outside, the sun had just risen and the daylight was starting to emerge. He didn't bother to check what time it was, he just knew it was early.

_Did that really just happen? Or was that the most realistic dream ever? There's no way that he could really be in me but… _He removed the gauntlet from his left hand, revealing his command seal. _It's still here. Then what just happened must've been real…Archer is still alive and he's somehow gotten stuck inside me. He danced around all my questions though, and I didn't really get any answers… God, he's still just as much of a pain in the ass as ever… _Archer smiled as he finished his thought. He then turned around and made his way toward the door, checking behind him to make sure Rin was still asleep. He walked out of her room and down the hall, looking inside each door he passed until he found the bathroom. When he finally found it, he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He flipped on the light and walked towards the mirror. He placed his hands on the sides of the sink and leaned against the counter. He looked at his reflection for a second, and then took off his gauntlets and put them on the counter. Next, he took off his shirt, and tossed it on the floor. He examined his body, specifically where Lancer had injured him. Even though it had stopped bleeding, the wound was still there. He placed his hand on the wound, and then rotated his shoulder back and forth, making sure that he could move it without it hurting.

_I'm surprised this hasn't healed yet, I didn't think it would take very long…_ He rested his arms back down at his sides. He picked up his shirt and was about to put it back on, when he heard the door open. Rin was on the opposite side, and slowly her eyes met his. It took her a second to process what was going on, but soon her face lit up red.

"I- I'm sorry! I didn't think you were in here!" Rin went to turn around when Archer extended his arm out and caught hold of her hand.

"Relax, it's not like I'm naked or anything. I was just finishing anyways, the bathroom is all yours." Archer let go of her hand and finished tossing on his shirt. He was putting his gauntlets back on, when Rin happened to catch sight of the marking on his hand.

"Hold on a second," She said moving towards him. She grabbed his hand and rolled up his sleeve, revealing the mark on his hand. "Is this a command seal..? How did you get this?" Archer pulled his hand away from her and slipped his gauntlet on.

"It never left…when I finished the war I had one left and I guess it stayed with me." He walked past Rin and left the bathroom. Rin stared after him for a few seconds before she sighed and shut the door.

_I wonder what's up with him…he was acting a little strange. _She continued to think about that scene as she continued her morning routine.

Meanwhile, Archer had gone downstairs and was searching the cupboards of the kitchen.

"Come on, there's got to be something to eat here…" He sighed as he searched cupboard after cupboard, unable to find the food. He did, however, manage to find all the bowls, glasses, plates, and other unhelpful items. Eventually, after continuous minuets of searching, he became frustrated and gave up. He walked out of the kitchen and back up the stairs to Rin's bedroom. He stepped inside and made his way back over to her bed. He sat down on it at first, but then let his body fall backwards. He stared off into space for a while, still thinking about his confrontation with his servant. He still had a lot of questions to ask him. His thought was broken though when he heard Rin walk into the room. He turned his head so he was looking at her. She was dressed in the girl's uniform, and her hair had been put back up into twin tails.

"I don't suppose you have any food in this house, do you? Cause if you do it's hidden quite well," Archer said to her.

"Of course I do, did you look in the pantry?" Archer smacked himself in the face with his palm.

"My God I'm an idiot…" He sat up in the bed and was attempting to stand up, when Rin's hand hit his chest and pushed him back down. "What're you doing? Seriously, I'm starving!"

"In case you forgot, I still need to replenish your mana." Rin started to turn red again as she got closer to him. She put her hands on his shoulders and then pinned him down to her bed, moving herself on top of him.

"You know, as odd as this sound, something about this strikes me as familiar…" His face was as red as hers as he closed his eyes and tried to think. It took him a few seconds, but then it came back to him. The scene where his servant had lost his mana, didn't she do something like this back then too? He knew he wasn't supposed to look, but curiosity had gotten the best of him and he managed to sneak a quick peek…what was confusion then, was clear to him now. Realizing what was going on, his eyes quickly shot open and he pushed her off of him. He pushed her off to the side so she rolled onto the bed.

"W-what're you doing?! This is the easiest way to do this!" Rin was still blushing even though she was yelling at him. He sat back up in the bed and looked over to her.

"There isn't another way? This just feels…wrong…"

"The alternative option is to drain mana out of living people…I just figured that that would be out of the question for you."

"Those aren't very many choices…"

"I know…but those are the only choices you have." Archer sighed and then stood up off her bed.

"Where are you going?"

"…I can't do either of those options. I'll regain my mana on my own; even if it takes longer, I can wait." Archer didn't look back to her as he walked out of her room, leaving her on her bed.

"Archer!" Rin called out to her servant but he didn't stop. He headed towards the stairs, but then his body suddenly stopped moving, like he was paralyzed.

_What the hell..? I can't move. _ Archer's body remained motionless, but soon he felt Rin's presence at his side.

"You really are stubborn...I won't force you to do anything, but I can't have you walking away from me. You're still going with me to school today, and afterwards…maybe I could finally get around to showing you the city…" Rin blushed a little again, and snapped her fingers, making it so Archer could move his body again.

"What did you do to me?" He asked, moving his arms around.

"I casted a paralysis on you; don't worry though, you should be fine now."

"You've got balls casting a spell on your servant." Archer let out a chuckle.

"It was either that or use a command seal."

"Tsk, well whatever…it's over now. Now we can address the real problem…" Archer's eyes narrowed and his voice became surprisingly serious.

"Real problem..?" Rin's face became serious as well as she looked into his eyes.

"I'm still hungry." Any sort of seriousness had been completely obliterated as a smile came across his face. Rin clenched her fist in anger and gritted her teeth.

"You are so unbelievably stupid…you actually had me worried for a second!"

"Heh, sorry, but do you think that you could cook us something to eat? I'm seriously hungry…" Archer placed a hand on his stomach and frowned.

"You sure do change your tune awfully fast…but fine, whatever. I suppose I can cook something up real quick. We need to get going soon though, we still need to make a stop along the way."

"Oh? And where would that be?"

"We need to get you some casual clothes so you can walk around with me during the day."

"Can't I just stay dematerialized..?" Rin blushed a little at his response.

"Y-you could, I'm just saying that if you wanted to stay in your physical form you could have that option!"

"Why don't you just get me a school uniform? I can just wear that during the day, that way should you need me at school I can at least make myself known. But I still think that just staying in spirit form works just as well…"

"I guess a school uniform would work; it shouldn't be too hard to get a hold of an extra one."

"Now that that's settled, can we please eat now?" Rin smiled and chuckled a little.

"Fine, come on." Rin started to walk down the stairs, and Archer followed. They went into the kitchen where Rin got straight to cooking, boiling some water on the stove. Archer sat and waited patiently for her to finish whatever she was cooking. It didn't take her too long to make it, and soon she brought the finished product over to the table.

"Here, eat up." Rin set down a plate in front of Archer. He picked the pair of chop sticks that was lying on the table and poked at the strange dish for a second.

"Is…this edible?" Archer asked making a gross face.

"O-of course it is! You're the one who asked me to cook so you'll eat whatever the hell I make!" Rin got flustered quickly. Archer poked at it a couple more times, and then he finally took a bite. The look of disgust quickly faded away and he began to devour it instantly.

"This is amazing!" He said scarfing it down. Rin looked a little shocked at his comment.

"I-I know. Anything made by me could be nothing less." Archer finished the plate off and then let out a loud belch.

"Excuse me…" He said a little embarrassed. Rin looked to him and then laughed a little.

"That was so gross it was kind of funny. Come on, we should get going." Rin picked up his plate and brought it over to the sink. She then exited the kitchen and made her way to the front door. Archer followed right behind her. The two left the house, and the second they stepped outside Archer dematerialized himself.

"So…about that boy, he's a student of your school right? What will you do if you encounter him?" Rin waited a while before she gave a response, like she was taking a long time to think about it.

"Sooner or later we'll have to fight each other, I know that…but let's just leave him be for now. He isn't really a threat, and he seems to trust us which could work out in our favor. If we can avoid a fight with Saber, then we should. It's not that I doubt your abilities, it's that we don't know enough about his servant to be able to formulate a strategy to use against her."

"But if you kill the boy then the servant won't be an issue anymore."

"I know…just go with me on this one."

"Whatever you say…" That was the last they said to each other on the subject. They continued to walk down the streets, gradually making their way towards the school. Archer would sometimes stop and admire some things in the window along the way, but he was quick to catch back up with Rin.

"Like I said earlier, after school is out I can show you around the city if you want," Rin said.

"Finally taking me out on that date huh? It's about time." Archer laughed a little as Rin got flustered again.

"For the last time, it's not a date!"

"You know you might now want to shout so loud, people will think you're crazy. Remember, they can't see me." Archer laughed again. Rin looked around and saw a few people staring at her and talking amongst themselves. Rin gritted her teeth in frustration, but she didn't say anything, not wanting to make the situation worse.

As they were heading towards the front gate of the school, a familiar face appeared down the street. It was Shirou, and he was walking with another girl who had short purple hair and purple eyes. She was dressed in the girl school uniform as well.

"Tohsaka!" Shirou shouted waving his hand in the air. Rin looked to him, and then closed her eyes and mumbled something.

"That idiot…he didn't bring his servant with him…even if I didn't plan on attacking him he still shouldn't be so reckless…" They eventually met each other as they stepped onto school grounds. As they walked in, Shirou looked to the girl he was with and said something to her.

"I'll see you later Sakura," He waved goodbye to the girl and then joined up with Rin.

"I take it everything went well last night?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, Saber and I had a little argument but we got everything figured out now."

"Speaking of her, why didn't you bring her with you? It's foolish to wander around without your servant."

"I told her not to come, I figured since there's so many people at school I'd be safe." Rin's eyes turned to look to where her servant was walking. She could imagine that he was probably smiling.

"Even so, it's best not to take any chances. You should make sure you get straight home after class then, you won't be safe should sundown come and you're not home."

"Yeah, I know."

"Hey, this is kind of off topic, but could you do me a favor?" Shirou looked at her with a confused look.

"A favor?"

"Yes, could you bring me a set of the boy's school uniform?"

"What? Why?"

"N-no reason…but could you?"

"Sure I guess…I'll stop by the office later and see if they have an extra set lying around. What size?"

"Probably a medium, but could you do it now?"

"Like right now? Class is going to start soon…"

"Come onnn, please?" Rin's voice turned sweet as she looked at him with almost puppy dog eyes.

"I guess…" Shirou sighed. "Wait here then, I'll be back in a few minutes." And with that, Shirou walked away towards the school. Rin smiled to herself as she watched him walk away.

"You know, sometimes I think you take advantage of the fact you're a women," Archer said noticing Rin's smile.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," She replied sarcastically. They stood outside the building for a few minutes, and soon Shirou came back with a school uniform in his hands.

"Here," He said handing them to Rin. She smiled at Shirou and thanked him. "Well I need to get to class before I'm late, you should too. See ya around." Shirou turned around and started to walk away, tucking his hand in his pocket. Archer watched as he walked away, replaying what he had just said in his mind.

"_See ya around_…" _The way he smiled, the way he said it… it felt familiar, like I've seen that before…_

"…cher! Archer! Hey, are you listening?" Rin's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah sorry, just thinking. What's up?"

"I want you to materialize and go change into these, after that you can dematerialize again."

"…If it's what you order…"

"Wait! Don't materialize here! Wait till we get inside, I'll take you to where the bathrooms are and you can do it in there."

"Fine fine, let's go then." Rin began to make her way into the school, where inside were many students walking with each other, some just standing around, and others were talking. She led him to where the bathrooms were, and looked around, making sure that nobody was walking towards them.

"Step inside and then materialize."

"Yeah yeah I know." Rin waited a few seconds, and then Archer reappeared in front of her at the entrance of the bathroom. Rin handed him the uniform and he turned and headed back into the bathroom. A few more minutes passed before he came back out, now dressed in the uniform. Rin looked at him, admiring the change. He looked different without his armor on, he looked just like another high school student.

"I feel weird being back in uniform again…" Archer mumbled tugging on the collar of his shirt.

"W-well I think you look good…" Rin blushed as Archer looked at her. He then smiled at her. "D-don't take that the wrong way! I didn't mean anything by that!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. You better get to class, you're going to be late if you stand here and continue to compliment me." He teased her once more before dematerializing again. "I'll be on the rooftop should you need me." Rin nodded her head and then started for her classroom.

She took her seat in the classroom; it was towards the back and next to the window. She stared outside most of the class, not really paying attention to what the teacher was saying. She knew pretty much everything about the class. If you ask anybody in that school who the role model was, they would say Rin Tohsaka.

Her morning classes came and went, and soon it was lunchtime. Instead of heading towards the cafeteria to eat, she decided she would head to the roof and check on Archer. She climbed the stairs that led to the top, and then stepped outside.

"Archer..?" She asked softly.

"Done so soon?" He replied, materializing himself. He was looking out over the edge of the roof. Rin made her way towards him until she too was looking out over the edge.

"Not yet, it's lunchtime right now. Just thought I'd check to see if you were still here," Rin teased him.

"Heh, where else would I go?"

"Good point I guess…well you could go back to my house and do who knows what…" Archer laughed a little as he continued to stare out in front of him.

"Yes, I'm going to go back to your house and raid your underwear drawer because I've got nothing better to do." He looked at her and smiled. She sighed, but then she too smiled.

"Well, I'm going to go get some lunch…want me to bring you anything?"

"No thanks, I'll be fine until you get done with school. I wouldn't mind though if you cooked whatever you made this morning again." Rin let out a soft chuckle.

"Breakfast for dinner huh? Sure, why not." Rin turned around and made her way back towards the stairs, and as she did Archer dematerialized himself again. As she was getting ready to head down, three other boys were heading up. One of them was skinny and looked like a stereotypical jock, while the other two were a couple of heavy looking students.

"Well, well boys, look what we have here? Miss Rin Tohsaka, queen of the school. Hey, where you going? No need to hurry." The jock looking one spoke to her. The two other boys behind him laughed amongst themselves as they pushed their way to the roof.

"Please, I don't have time to waste on losers like you," Rin tried to push her way past them, but one of the bigger ones threw his arm out in front of her and pushed her back.

"Losers huh? You better watch your mouth bitch." The jock stepped out in front and placed his hand under her chin. She quickly and angrily swatted it away. "Come on babe, don't be so tense. Loosen up." His voice became violent as he ended his sentence. He pushed Rin back by her shoulders, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards. Archer was quick to show himself though as he appeared behind Rin and caught her, preventing her from falling. All of the boys jumped backwards when they saw Archer appear.

"Woah! The fuck did you come from?!" The jock shouted at him. Archer ignored him, focusing his attention on Rin.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, helping her back up to her feet.

"I'm fine…but you didn't have to show yourself to the likes of these guys."

"Hey! Dickhead! What's the matter, you deaf or something? I'm talking to you!" Archer turned his attention to the boy that was taunting him.

"…May I?" He looked to Rin, asking her for approval.

"Fine…just don't go too rough, we don't need this kind of attention. Just knock them out or something so I can leave." Archer smiled and cracked his knuckles, facing back towards the boys.

Just as it started, it was over in a flash. All of the boys had been knocked out cold with little to no effort made by Archer.

"Well that was boring, they sure talk a lot for weaklings," Archer mumbled dissatisfied. Rin walked passed him with a smile on her face.

"I'll be back once classes are over, don't go anywhere okay?"

"I'll be here." And with that Rin headed back down the stairs, and disappeared back into the school.

Archer walked back over to the edge of the roof where he went right back to staring off into space. As he looked out over the ledge, his body dematerialized back to his spirit form.

What took hours only seemed like minutes, as Rin was soon back up on the roof.

"All done," She said happily.

"Really? That was fast…I must've been more zoned out than I thought…" Archer replied.

"You've been really spacy today, are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine…I must still be a little tired is all." Rin let out a sigh as she leaned her back up against the edge of the roof.

"…I need to tell you something…" Rin's voice was quiet as her face started to turn a little red.

"And what would that be?"

"I might've lied earlier when I told you that you only had two options to replenish your mana…" Archer pulled his body away from the ledge as he looked to her confused.

"What do you mean..?"

"I can transfer mana to you without you having to kill people, or sleep with me…"

"Then why-"

"Don't ask…I was just…testing you I guess you could say…it's a girl thing."

"Testing me…? Testing me for what?"

"Just don't ask…"

"You don't make any sense, you know that?"

"S-shut up!"

"So then, what is the alternative that you 'forgot' to mention?"

"When we made our contract with each other, we made a connection with each other…that's how I'm able to signal you when I need you, or how you're able to find me wherever I am. I can use that connection to transfer my mana to you; it can also be used vice versa should the situation ever arise."

"I see…you could've told me this earlier, it's not like you can't tell me things. I don't know what it is that you were 'testing' about me, but you can trust me. There's one thing that I need to get through to you…I'm here to protect you. I would give my life for you in a heartbeat."

"Archer…"

"You may think that I'm being all mushy right now, but I'm being dead serious. You're my master and it's my job to protect you, no matter the cost."

"…You're right. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier…"

"What's done is done, let's just move on. So, how does this whole mana transfer thing work then?"

"It's really quite simple…here, give me your hand." Archer did as she said and extended his hand out to her. She took hold of it in hers and then closed her eyes. She mumbled some words under her breath, and then Archer's body started glowing. It lasted for a few seconds, and then it was done. Rin opened her eyes again, and then nearly lost her balance. She fell forward, but Archer was right there to catch her.

"You okay? You didn't have to give me this much, I could've recovered some of it on my own you know."

"I'm fine…I think maybe it's me that just needs to rest now."

"Then let's get back to your house."

"But-"  
"No buts. You can show me around later, for now though you need to get your strength back. Next time don't use so much that you can't walk."

"Give me a break, it was my first time ever doing that to a servant…it all happened a lot faster than I imagined, and I couldn't cut it off in time."

"Relax, I'm just giving you shit. Come on, let's go." Archer helped Rin back to her feet and then stepped away from her. Rin took one step, but that was it before she almost fell again. Once again, Archer had stepped in and held her up. He put her arm around him so she could balance herself.

"My legs feel like jello, I must've used up way to much mana…I didn't expect you to need as much as you did."

"Well when I came to this world I wasn't at full strength anyways, plus all of the extra mana I used in my multiple battles with Lancer, I was running pretty low."

"But still…"

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Here, hop on my back so we can get you back home." Archer bent his knees down and lowered his body.

"This again? Fine," Rin didn't struggle this time like she did last time. She hopped up on his back and put her arms around his neck. He placed his arms around her legs and then started to run. With a running leap, he jumped from the roof of the school to another nearby roof. He leaped from building to building, making his way to Rin's house.

"You sure can see a lot from up here," Rin said looking down to the city below. The gentle breeze of the wind ran by her face as they flew through the air.

"I know, why do you think I like high places? I like looking at things." Rin smiled and then closed her eyes, tightening her grip around his neck a little. He carried her the rest of the way to her house, all the way until they were standing on her roof. He jumped down from the roof, and made his way to the front door. He took one hand off of Rin and opened the door. He stepped inside, but sitting on the couch in the living room was an all too familiar face.

"Nice to see you again," He said.

"Lancer…" Archer mumbled as he stared down Lancer once more.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Truce

Archer tightened his grip around the legs of his master, who seems to have fallen asleep.

"Relax, if I was here to kill you, you'd be dead already." Lancer spoke calmly, staring at Archer. Archer remained where he stood, not loosening up a bit.

"Then why are you here? How did you find this place?"

"I've got some…connections you could say, but as for why I'm here…I come here offering a truce."

"Oh? Is that so?" Archer chuckled a little. "The only servant I seem too run into is you; if we're at a truce, then who am I going to fight?"

"Interesting question, because I came here with an answer already in mind." Lancer stood up off from the couch he was sitting on, holding his weapon at his side. "As you know the Berserker class is always quite troublesome, and is quite a challenge to take on by yourself; although it's not impossible, it is difficult. So the truce I offer is this; we shall ignore fighting each other until Berserker is taken care of. If we fight together, we have a better chance of killing him. As much as it pains me to say it, you're not half bad with your swords, and you're spot on with a bow, just like an Archer should be. So if we work together, getting rid of Berserker shouldn't be too difficult." Archer remained quiet for a second, thinking about what Lancer had just said. He glanced back over his shoulder to check on Rin, but she was still sleeping peacefully.

"You do raise a point about Berserker being troublesome…I happened to encounter this goliath just last night. We didn't actually fight, but just the sense of terror that came from this creature…its overwhelming."

"I know, you don't have to tell me. So then, are we at a truce?" Lacer began to approach Archer, and then extended out his hand.

"…I'll agree to this truce, if you swear to me one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"If I should die during the war, do not hunt down my master. When I die as a servant, that will be the end of it…I don't see her forging another contract with anybody else."

"…Hmph, very well, so then, I'll ask again; are we at a truce?" Lancer kept his hand extended, and this time, Archer put his out as well and the two shook hands. "Smart choice Archer." Lancer smiled at him and then walked passed him. Archer turned his head over his shoulder and watched as Lancer disappeared, dematerializing himself back into spirit form. Once he was gone, Archer kicked the door shut with his foot, and then carried Rin up the stairs and into her room. He set her down on her bed and covered her up with her blankets. He then sat down in the spot next to her on her bed, resting his back up against the headboard of the bed. He had his legs extended out in front of him, and he crossed his arms, tilting his head downwards a bit. He closed his eyes and began to doze off.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he had fallen asleep, but the next thing he knew was that Rin was calling to him, and shaking his shoulder trying to wake him up.

"Hey, Archer, come on get up!" He slowly opened his eyes, and turned his head to meet the eyes of his Master, who was only inches away.

"…What? He muttered back to her, still half asleep.

"Come on, I'm going to be late for school." Rin pulled herself away from him and stood up off the bed, brushing off her skirt.

"Didn't you just go to school..?"

"Yesterday I did, you've been asleep for like fifteen hours. I woke up last night around eight and you were already passed out. I figured you would wake up eventually but you never did, so I just left you to your slumber."

"I slept all day yesterday..? Wow, that's not like me at all…you could've woken me up you know." Archer smiled at her, stretching out his arms over his head and cracking his knuckles. He turned himself and planted his feet on the floor. He then stood up and made his way over to Rin.

"At least you're still in uniform, saves you the trouble of changing," Rin teased him with a laugh. Archer looked at himself and noticed that indeed he had slept in the uniform. It then crossed his mind that Lancer had seen him in the uniform too; it almost bothered him that he didn't say anything about it. "Anyways, let's go. I don't have a lot of time left before classes start." Rin turned around and made her way out of her bedroom. Archer followed close behind.

They left her house and began making their way to the school. Archer kept himself in his physical form since he had no reason to really hide himself.

"H-hey…" Rin spoke up softly. Archer turned his head and looked at her.

"Yes?"

"T-thanks for carrying me yesterday…I must've really been exhausted if I fell asleep on your back. I-I didn't mean too though! I just closed my eyes for a second…and next thing I knew I woke up in my bed." Archer chuckled a little, and then he smiled at her.

"It is the servant's job to protect their master, even if it's from something as small as exhaustion. And you know, after I put you to bed I passed out too…and the next thing I knew there was this girl who was shaking me and telling me to get my ass up because she was going to be late for school." He teased Rin, nudging her shoulder.

"S-shut up! I already told you that you would be coming with me!"

"Yeah yeah I know, but still…waking up sucks…oh yeah, that reminds me…" Archer stopped walking, as did Rin.

"What?"

"When we got back to your house, Lancer was inside waiting for me."

"He what?! What happened?"

"Nothing happened, he didn't want to fight, in fact, it was the opposite. He came offering a truce until Berserker is defeated." Rin looked a little shocked when she heard what had happened.

"…And what did you say?"

"I agreed."

"Why?! Do you not think that we could beat Berserker on our own?!" Rin was angry now.

"Not at all, I just figured it was the best choice."

"How?! Explain to me your logic!" Archer looked away from her and grunted.

"Because, in case it didn't register, Lancer knows where you live. If I had said no, he could come back and kill either of us at any time. Sure you could put up a barrier, but that house isn't very big and it wouldn't give either of us hardly any reaction time. I figured if we ally ourselves with him now, it's just one less thing we have to worry about."

"Did you ever think that Lancer might be lying to you just so you'd lower your guard? I see the point you're making, but you need to stop worrying about me ALL the time! I understand that you're my servant and you're here to protect me, but I can hold my own for a while, I'm not totally defenseless." Archer looked to Rin once more, he was angry, but he was also confused.

"It is my job to protect you. That's why I'm here. If I do my job right, then we walk out of here champions."

"You don't need to be at my side every second though! Everywhere I look you're always there; don't you have anything else to do?"

"If you don't need me around you all the time then why do you drag me along to school with you? I would've been just fine sitting on your bed sleeping; in fact, if you can handle yourself then I'll just go back now. Should you run into a servant then feel free to summon me." Without waiting for Rin to reply, he dematerialized himself and was gone in an instant.

"A-Archer! Get back here!" Rin shouted, but he was already gone. Rin clenched her fist in frustration. She grunted and then continued making her way to school. Her walk was quiet as she approached the front gates, where standing inside was Shirou. He was standing still and had his hand clenched to his chest. Before Rin could make it up to him, he had already begun to walk away.

_That idiot…he didn't bring his servant with him today either… I need to stop showing him mercy; I need to show him that I'm serious. _Rin was only a few steps behind him, but she didn't say anything. She kept quiet, and once they were inside, she slipped away to her classroom. She took her seat in her desk, and stared out the window until class started.

* * *

Meanwhile, Archer had made his way back to Rin's house and was sitting on top of her roof. From the way he was sitting and the direction he was staring in, he had a perfectly good view of the school and with his vision, he could see Rin through the window of her classroom. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He focused his mind, and soon he was back inside the same familiar classroom where his servant was. He was in his usual spot, sitting in his throne of desks.

"Girls...can't live with them, can't live without them." The familiar laughter of his servant brought a soothing sense to Archer.

"Heh, I guess so..."

"Anyways, you probably didn't come here to listen to me ramble, so what can I do for you?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.

"I was just curious about something…do you think I made the right choice by allying with Lancer?" His servant smiled at him and then stood out of his seat. He approached his master and stood across from him, looking at him eye to eye.

"There is no right choice, you simply did what you thought was best. Given the circumstances of your situation, I think that yes, it was the right choice. I think it's because the girl was asleep and wasn't actually there when the truce happened is causing her to have her suspicions. In time though, the situation could change and you will no longer need Lacer as an ally, but if not, then having him around isn't the worst thing that could happen. Standing against a Berserker alone would be very difficult, and at the very least, you could use Lancer as a distraction to make an exit should the situation be too rough."

"Archer!" His servant laughed at his master's response.

"I'm just saying, it's an option." Archer let out a sigh as he looked to his servant.

"You know, both of us going by Archer is really confusing…if you could just tell me what your name is, this would be a lot easier."

"Geez, you're still prying at my name? I thought I told you to let it go, I told you enough didn't I?"

"Why won't you tell me? Even now you're still as stubborn as ever…"

"Like you're one to talk about stubbornness…"

"I'm pretty sure I developed it from you." He smiled at his servant.

"That wouldn't surprise me at all."

"So, come on, won't you tell me?" His servant let out a sigh and lowered his shoulders.

"I would tell you…but I think that you'll figure it out on your own. There are a lot of things that are interesting about this world that you're in, many of them are ironic…"

"What do you mean..?"

"Well, you should probably get back to the real world…time inside here passes much slower than time outside. I would imagine she's probably done with school by now."

"Stop changing the subjects! And what do you mean; I've only been here for a few minutes!"

"Like I said last time, this is why it's easier to do it while you're sleeping. It takes up a lot of time to come here and chat."

"Fine…but next time we talk, I want a name. Okay?"

"We'll see…" His servant smiled at him, and then it was over. He was still sitting on the roof of Rin's house, but now it was close to sunset as the orange glow in the sky was present.

_He wasn't kidding, time flew by out here…I suppose I should head to the school and meet up with Rin. _He stood from the roof and jumped down to the ground. He decided that he would walk to the school instead of travel by rooftops like he usually does; he wasn't in that big of a hurry.

* * *

Once classes were over, Rin found herself waiting around the school, searching to see if Shirou had done the smart thing and had gone home, or if he was still carelessly roaming about. She was heading down one of the stairs, when she saw him walking down the hallway. He turned his head up and met her gaze.

"Hey Tohsaka!" He said happily. He waited a few seconds for a reply, but when he got none he continued walking. "I guess if you've got nothing to say, I'll be going then."

"You really are an idiot, you know that?" Rin spoke up, beginning to march down the stairs.

"What do you mean 'idiot'?"

"You walk around without your servant so foolishly...it's like holding up a sign that says 'please kill me.'" She rolled up her sleeve on her left arm as she approached him. Shirou backed himself up to the wall as he realized what she was doing.

"W-wait Tohsaka! We're at school still!"

"Do you see anybody around?" He glanced around, realizing that the school was probably empty.

"You can't be sure though! Somebody could still be here!"

"Then I'll deal with them. But as for now…" She raised up her finger and pointed it at him. She fired something out of her finger, a black ball that shot like bullet. Shirou quickly jumped to the side avoiding it.

"I'm trying not to kill you, but a running target makes that much more difficult." She raised her finger again and shot at him. This time, he took off running down the hallway, trying to avoid the shots. She chased after him. He took a turn in the hallway, jumping down the stairs. He continued running as Rin was right behind him, but when she jumped from the stairs, as any man would, he might've caught a glimpse of what's up her skirt.

"Y-you should be more careful…you totally just flashed me…" He said, his face a little red. Rin pushed down her skirt and scowled at him.

"You're dead..." He bolted down the stairs when he saw the glare in her eyes. He managed to escape into a classroom, and when inside he ran up to the windows and looked outside.

_Alright, I should be able to jump from here._ But before he could do anything, a barrier was placed on the outside, locking him in the room. _A barrier..? This must be Tohsaka's… _Shirou looked around, and decided to flip a desk onto its side and take refuge behind it. He managed to reinforce it a little, but it wasn't too long after that that there was a sudden burst inside the classroom. Needing to get out of there, he threw the desk to the side, breaking off one of its legs and then stormed out of the room. He walked out coughing, and near the opposite door stood Rin.

"So…you finally decided to show yourself?" She asked, breathing a little heavy. "Just give up…you stand no chance at being able to defeat me."

"I'll never know unless I try." Shirou gripped the makeshift weapon in his hand.

"Listen, I'm really trying not to kill you, but your starting to piss me off…if you hold still the worst that could happen to you is you'll have to nerves ripped out of your arms."

"You're serious…" Shirou looked into Rin's eyes, and in them he found no mercy.

"I'm glad that you're finally able to see that…so now, I'll give you till the count of three to decide what you want to do with your life. If you run, I can't promise you'll survive. If you hand me your command seals however, I'll let you walk away."

"I…I can't do that. That would be like betraying Saber, and I refuse to do that."

"We'll see…one." Rin began her countdown, holding her finger up to Shirou. "Two." Shirou made no movement still. "Three. Have you made your decision?" Shirou looked to her, but before he could answer, the sound of a young women's scream filled the hallways. Shirou turned his head around quickly.

"Tohsaka..!"

"Th- that was a scream wasn't it?" Shirou took off running down the stairs. "Wait! Don't go alone you idiot!" She said taking off after him. She followed him down the stairs, where upon walking into the hallway there was a body of a young school girl on the floor. Shirou knelt down next to her and picked her up, leaning her head against his chest.

"I think she's just unconscious-"

"No, she's not. She's had the life force drained out of her."

"But there's not a scratch on her…"

"She may be fine from the outside, but on the inside she's dying. Step back, I should be able to handle this." Rin knelt down next to the girl as well. She closed her eyes and began to mumble a spell under her breath. The glare from the sun though was shining in through the open door of the hallway, and it was making it difficult for her to focus. "I can't concentrate; can you shut that door for me?" She looked to Shirou.

"Uh, sure." He placed the girl back on the ground and made his way to the door. He was about to shut it, when something caught his attention. Feeling that something was flying towards Rin, he put his arm out, and in a second it was impaled by a spike of some sort. He let out a grunt of pain as he could feel it being tugged on a little.

"Shirou!" Rin shouted.

"Heal that girl!" He shouted back. Rin didn't have a chance to reply before Shirou had left. She looked out the door where Shirou had left, and then back to the girl. She sighed and continued to attempt to heal her. She mumbled her spell once more, and waited a little bit. The process took longer than she had hoped, but when she was done she set out after Shirou. She went outside and looked around, trying to tell where he had gone. She caught sight of something flashing in the trees behind the Archery dojo and began to head there. She ran to where she had seen the flash, and when she got there she saw that Shirou was hanging on a tree by his arm. The spike that was in his arm had a chain on it that was wrapped around a branch, holding him in place. There was another person there too, that person must be a servant. She had long pink hair and was in a black dress like outfit. She had another spike in her hand and she looked like she was ready to throw it. With hardly any time to act, Rin raised her finger and shot. The blast went past the servants head and hit the chain that was holding the spike that was in Shirou's arm. Shirou had fallen to the ground, holding his arm. Upon noticing the blast from Rin though, the servant vanished into the darkness of the tree's.

"Are you alright?" Rin asked making her way to Shirou.

"I'm fine…how's that girl?"

"She should be alright...Idiot! Why didn't you at least summon your servant if you were in danger!" Shirou looked away from her.

"I…I didn't want her to get hurt…"

"Your servant is here to protect you! Do you know how worried Saber probably is? What do you think she'll say when she finds out that you let this happen without summoning her?"

"I know! I know that she'll probably be angry, and I know she's probably worried but…I just can't bring myself to put her in danger." Before Rin could reply, the sound of something flying through the air caught her attention, as well as Shirou's. It was the servant's spike, and it was aimed at Rin's head yet again. Rin closed her eyes as she thought that she was as good as dead, but then opened them when she heard the spike clash against something, something that was metal. Archer was now standing in front of her with his swords in hand. He had one armed raised, he must have deflected the spike.

"Archer…" Rin mumbled looking at her servant. He glanced over his shoulder at her, and then turned his attention back forward. The spike had been retraced back into the shadows, and the opposing servant had left.

"We should leave quickly." Archer said lowering his arms and dematerializing his weapons. Rin nodded her head and looked to Shirou.

"We should get your wound fixed up, it'd be bad if it got infected," Rin said to him. Shirou looked at his arm and nodded in agreement. Rin had pulled out some bandages and wrapped up his arm, enough to stop the bleeding at least. "Let's head back to my place, I should be able to properly treat this there."

"Alright, but I should get back to Saber sometime soon so she doesn't worry even more."

"Don't worry, it won't take very long." Rin waited for Shirou to stand before speaking again. "Thanks for that Ar-" She turned to where Archer was, but he was no longer there. Shirou looked with her and noticed that he was gone as well.

"Where is he?" Shirou asked.

"I…don't know. He's around."

"Heh, the way he clung to you it seems like he's always by your side…probably a smart thing though, if he didn't you'd be dead right now." Rin let those words ring in her mind as she thought about her argument with him earlier.

_It's true…if Archer hadn't shown up when he did I would be dead…maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut earlier… _Rin stared to the ground, letting her mind wander. It wasn't until Shirou called out to her that she came back to reality. He was waiting for her so they could leave. She moved her feet and began to head home with Shirou following behind her. She didn't say anything, she just kept thinking about her argument earlier and the encounter they just had with another servant.

Eventually they made it to her house, and once they were inside she had Shirou sit down next to her on the couch and remove the bandages from his arm. When they were off, she noticed that the wound was almost completely healed, there was only a small cut left rather than the gaping hole there was earlier.

"Your wound is almost fully healed…" Rin muttered staring at the cut. Shirou looked to his arm and looked at it as well.

"You're right…it's like nothing ever happened."

"Have you and Saber formed strong connection then? The only thing I can think of is that she's transferring her mana to you, accelerating the healing process."

"It's a possibility, but I though we already had one?"

"You do, it's just…weak still. If she can do a mana transfer, then it must be a little stronger then…just don't get too reckless otherwise you'll end up draining all of Saber's mana."

"Right…I'll try to be more careful."

"You should start by bringing her to school with you…either that head right home afterwards. You got lucky today, but next time you might not be."

"That reminds me…why didn't you kill me earlier after I had been injured? You had the perfect opportunity, but instead you helped me."

"W-well…I dunno, I didn't want to kick somebody while they were down, and besides, with another servant appearing I can say for sure that there is another master inside the school…you can feel that magic too when you enter school grounds right?"

"Yes, when I step inside, I get this sickly feeling…do you know what it is?"

"Somebody has put up a barrier around the school and must be planning to drain all the life out of it to power their servant…"

"What?! You're serious?"

"I am…which is why I am proposing a truce between us until this is resolved."

"A truce huh? I don't see why not…having you as an ally would defiantly help rest my mind a little-"

"Hold on, I didn't say anything about being an ally. I just offered a truce, there's a difference."

"I suppose you're right…the enemy of an enemy doesn't mean an ally huh?"

"Right."

"Well, I accept. I'll be glad to work with you." Shirou stood up and extended his hand out to Rin. She shook his hand with a little blush on her face.

"J-just try and make yourself useful why we're working together alright? Shirou smiled at her and nodded his head.

"I should get going then…Saber is probably going to have a few words for me…" Shirou sighed as he started to make his way out the door.

"Good luck with that," Rin waved goodbye to Shirou before letting out a deep sigh. "Saber isn't the only servant that's going to have a few words for their master…" Rin stood off the couch and began to make her way up to her room. She stepped inside and made her way to her bed. She sat down on the edge of her bed and looked down to her floor.

"…Archer?" She said quietly. Archer materialized himself; he was already sitting next to her on her bed. He didn't respond to her though. Knowing that he was around though at least made her feel a little better.

"I-" Rin had started to speak but Archer cut her off.

"Now do you see why I worry about you all the time? You never know what could happen. While you're at school during the day, I trust that you can handle yourself, it's afterwards that I worry for you. I'm sure that you could hold your own, I don't doubt that, but for how long? Could you last until I get there? If I'm at your house I can be there in a matter of minutes, but what if I'm farther away? What if I'm too late. You preach to that kid all the time about not having his servant with him, and that he should go straight home after school, but didn't you do the same today? And looked what happened. I happened to show up just in time, but one second later and you'd be dead."

"I know…I take back what I said earlier…I'm not sure what came over me then, I guess I just felt like bitching." Rin smiled a little. Archer let out a soft chuckle before replying to her.

"Heh, finally showing are sarcastic side huh?" He nudged Rin's shoulder.

"S-shut up! I blame you!" Rin blushed a little, looking away from him.

"Well if I were you, I'd blame me too." Archer laughed a little more. "But what's done is done, don't think about today anymore alright? If you don't want me around just say so and I'll leave you be, but I will be at your side the second that the sun starts to set, alright?"

"Alright." Rin smiled at him. "Oh, by the way, I don't know if you were around or not but I offered a truce to Shirou while that master at the school is still around…it seems as though whoever it is has put up a barrier around the school. It needs to be taken down soon, so I figured if two of us are working to bring it down, it'll go a lot faster."

"Truces are just being made everywhere today huh? Well I see no reason not to, one less problem to worry about. I would also strongly recommend keeping him close though, Saber could be a great asset in taking down Berserker. If there were three of us, we would surly win."

"That's a good point, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good, but for now…what's for dinner?" Archer smiled at Rin and placed his hand on her head, messing up her hair. She swatted it away and laughed.

"What do you want? I can make a lot of things so take your pick…it'll be my apology present to you."

"Oh hooray! More presents! This makes gift number two!" Rin chuckled a little.

"I guess, but that first one wasn't really a gift, considering it's broken." Archer pulled the device out of his pocket, and held it in his hand.

"I consider it a gift still, even if it doesn't work."

"Well whatever, so what do you want?"

"Let's go to the kitchen and I'll see what you got and we can go from there."

"Alright then, let's go," Rin grabbed Archer by the wrist and ran out of her room, smiling the whole way to the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Trust

After enjoying a delicious meal, Archer and Rin made their way back up to Rin's bedroom. Archer plopped down on her bed and placed his hand over his stomach as he let out a groan.

"Man…I think I ate too much…" Rin chuckled a little as listened to his complaint.

"I told you that you should probably stop around your third serving! It's your own fault that you feel awful," Rin replied.

"But it was just so good… Ugh, I think I just need to lie down for a bit…"

"Hey, before you do that I want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Since we'll be working with Shirou for a bit, what do you think about going over and staying at his house?"

"What? Why? Sure we're working together now, but what about afterwards?"

"It would just make communicating a lot easier if we were both at the same place, and plus with both you and Saber around we wouldn't have to worry about a sneak attack from Lancer or anybody for that matter."

"…I see what you're saying, but if our truce is only until the master at the school is defeated, then are you sure that you want to get this close to another master? What if he breaks the truce, it will be a challenge for me to fight Saber."

"I don't think he's the type of person to do that…that does remind me though, might I ask you about your noble phantasm?" Hearing the words caught Archer by surprise a little.

"My noble phantasm..? Well, you could ask but as far as receiving an answer, that's another story."

"Are you saying you don't have one?!"

"I'm saying I don't know what it is."

"How does that happen?!"

"I'm not sure…but at this point nothing should surprise you anymore I wouldn't think, I'm not really a normal servant." Archer smiled a reassuring smile to Rin. She let out a sigh and then sat down next to him on her bed.

"I suppose you're right, nothing at this point should come as a surprise…but still, not having a noble phantasm is problematic."

"I'm aware of that, but there's not really much I can do. If I have one, it will reveal itself when the time comes, and if not then we'll just have to win without it."

"You make it sound so simple…well anyways, I'm going to go take a shower and get ready for bed. Tomorrow I'll be going to Shirou's house to inform him of my location change, and then hopefully we'll be able to do something about that barrier that's around the school."

"Want me to tag along?" Archer smiled at her as he nudged her shoulder.

"I-if you want, I was assuming you would but I guess you don't have to."

"Last time I left you, you nearly got yourself killed…"

"You don't need to keep reminding me…"

"I know, just giving you shit is all. Just get up and do whatever you have to do in the morning, and when I wake up I'll join you at school; sound good?"

"Sure, that'll work." Rin stood up off the bed and walked out of her room, heading towards the bathroom. Once she was there she stepped inside, and a few minutes later the water began to run. Archer had adjusted himself so that he was leaning against the backboard of the bed with his legs extended out in front of him. He closed his eyes, and after a few minutes, he began to fall asleep.

"A-Archer…" Rin's voice was quiet as she tried to grab his attention. She was still in the bathroom, only poking her head out of the door. When he didn't respond she tried again. "Archer!" This time her voice woke him from his slumber. He moved himself off the bed and looked out the doorway, meeting Rin's eyes from down the hall.

"What?" He asked.

"I-I need a favor…"

"…What is it?" He let out a sigh.

"I forgot my pajamas in my room…can you get them from my closet for me..?"

"…You're serious? Just wrap a towel around you and come get them yourself." Rin stayed quiet for a second, and then Archer let out another sigh. "You forgot your towel, didn't you?"

"Maybe…" Archer shook his head as he made his way over to her closet. He slid open the door and looked around. At first he only saw skirts and shirts, but eventually there was the pair of yellow pajamas that she wore. He pulled them off the hangar they were on and made his way down the hall to Rin. He could see the red on her face as he got closer. When he got there he handed her the clothes and then began to turn around.

"T-thank you…now can you bring me my towel?"

"Really?! Fine…but then I'm going back to bed." Archer made his way back to her room and grabbed her towel that was lying on the floor. He picked it up and brought it to her, and then made his way back to her room again and rested himself back where he was before Rin had called him. He positioned himself, but he couldn't get back to sleep. He kept his eyes shut for minuets, but he never felt tired. He reopened his eyes when he heard the sound of the bathroom door open. He looked to the door of the bedroom and after a few seconds, Rin had walked in. Her hair was wet and it had been pulled out of the twin tails. She was still wiping her face with her towel as she walked in. She was in her pajamas now as well. She threw her towel down on the floor next to her bed and then sat down.

"Goodnight Archer," Rin said covering herself up underneath her blankets.

"Goodnight," Archer murmured back. Archer watched Rin as she slowly slipped away into a slumber. He smiled at her, even though she couldn't see it. Seeing her lying there peacefully brought a sense of happiness to Archer, as if it were to prove that even in times of chaos there can be peace. He too then closed his eyes, and finally tiredness set in on him and he had fallen asleep.

As he slept, he was taken back to the place inside his mind where he could confront his servant.

"Hmm? Back so soon?" His servant laughed, adjusting his position in his seat.

"Well I figured that since I was sleeping anyways, I might as well stop in to chat for a bit."

"Very well then, what is it you wish to discuss this time? And before you even ask I still don't plan on telling you my name." Archer laughed at his servant.

"Still being stubborn huh? Oh well, I was just thinking about something…"

"It wouldn't by chance be about your noble phantasm would it?" His servant smirked at him.

"Yeah actually, how'd you know?"

"I'm in your mind, I know your thoughts. I can see and hear anything you do, just like I was right there next to you."

"Well then, if you know what I want to talk about, can you offer me any advice?"

"There really isn't any advice to offer…I can't just tell you what your noble phantasm is, it's something that you have to figure out."

"Isn't there a way to make a reality marble like you do?"

"Wha- No! You can't just make a reality marble out or thin air! It's far more complicated than that! Just to be able to sustain a reality marble takes a lot of magical energy, far more than what you're capable of producing. And besides, typically those of the Caster class are usually the only ones that can project one, simply because of the fact it takes so much energy."

"Then how is it that you can make one..?"

"It's different with me…I'm not alternating the world around me, I'm simply projecting out onto the world. Do you understand?"  
"Yes…kind of…not really…no."

"Eh, well don't think too much about it or you'll hurt yourself…you don't really need to understand it anyways."

"Well whatever…so then, what do you suggest I do? Not having a noble phantasm puts me at a serious disadvantage against other servants."

"Then picture yourself at your best. If you can't beat the enemy that stands in front of you, then imagine somebody you can beat. Visualize and create the weapon that will defeat whoever should stand before you. I will say this once, there are two types of people in this world; there are those that fight, and there are those that create."

"But…I do both."

"Exactly. You are a creator that creates to fight. To protect those around you, to protect the people that matter. It's good to see that you've taken such a path, but don't wander too far down it, or you'll be betrayed like I once was."

"I don't understand the whole, 'You are a creator that creates to fight' thing…but as far as this path that I'm going, I'm not going down it because it's the right thing, I'm following it because I want too. Down this path I have the chance to save."

"Tsk, you're just like I was…foolish to think that you can save everyone. Did you not learn anything from the story I told you about what happened to me?"

"I did actually…even though you ended up getting betrayed by your ideals, did you have any regrets up until then about the choices you had made? Did you ever wish that you had just let somebody die, that it might've just been for the best if they hadn't been saved?"

"…Yes. There's one person in particular that I should've just let fade away, but yet I was compelled to save them…it was because I saved that person that I am who I am today…no matter what happened, or what kind of danger was present, I always put them ahead of me."

"Who was it..?"

"You may have heard the name before…does King Arthur ring any bells?"

"No way! You protected the legendary King Arthur?!"

"At one point in my human life, yes I did. Those were the happiest days that I can remember…but anyways, you should get back to reality soon. I would imagine that it's about time to meet up wi-" He stopped his sentence and flinched as a sudden feeling of despair shot through his mind.

"Did you feel that?" Archer asked his servant.

"I did..."

"What…was that feeling?"

"I'm not sure…but you should probably hurry and get to Rin."

"Right." He nodded his head, and then the place around him faded away. He opened his eyes and looked next to the empty spot next to him."

_She must already be at school…I need to hurry and get to her…something feels wrong. _Archer quickly jumped out of the bed and phased himself out of the house, not wasting any time. His outfit had changed as well; he was now back in his armor rather than the school outfit. He traveled by roof top until he reached the front gate of the school. He jumped down on the ground and rushed onto the campus of the school. The second he stepped foot inside though, he felt a great weight come over his body. He looked around, and he could just barely make out the barrier that was over the school.

_It must have been activated…I don't see anybody around here at all…usually there should at least be a few kids outside. _He was about to start running again when he heard Rin call out to him.

"Archer!" She shouted. He turned his head and saw Rin running at him from where the Archery dojo was.

"Rin! What's going on? I felt this awful feeling through my body and rushed over here as quick as I could."

"The barrier has been activated…I was just with Shirou, we were walking around trying to weaken the barrier and then out of nowhere it got activated and everybody in the building is losing strength fast. Once it was activated, he took off running and I've been trying to find him since, but I have no idea where he ran off too…he doesn't have Saber with him yet again so-" before she finished her sentence, the sound of glass shattering caught their attention. They looked to where the sound had come from to find that Shirou had been tossed out of a window from the top floor of the school.

"That's Shirou!" Rin shouted taking off towards him. Archer followed quickly behind her. They watched as Shirou's body fell, but just a few seconds before he hit the ground, a symbol appeared on the ground and from it, Saber had appeared. She caught him and carried him back up to the place where he had fallen from.

"He must've used a command seal to summon her…at least he saved himself," Rin let out a sigh of relief. "We need to hurry; who ever put up this barrier must be who Shirou is fighting right now."

"If we're in a hurry then hop on, we'll get there faster." Archer stopped and motioned Rin to jump on his back.

"F-fine." Rin blushed a little and then hopped on. She threw her arms around his neck and he put his around her legs.

"You would think that since this is the third time we've done this that you would've stopped blushing by now…" Archer teased her as he began to run. Rin didn't say anything back, she just tightened her grip on him in frustration. Archer ran up to the building where Shirou had fallen from and looked upward to the broken window.

"Hang on tight," Archer said as jumped. He landed on the ledge that had been made when the window shattered, but before he made it in the building, something went flying past him in the hallway of the school. Whatever it was, it was so fast that the shockwave it sent out from passing him pushed him backwards off the ledge; it was also so bright that it had blinded him, causing him to close his eyes. When he fell, Rin's grip around him had broken. As they fell through the air, he could hear Rin let out a scream. He opened his eyes, but he could hardly see anything. He was just able to tell where Rin's body was so he stuck his hand out and grabbed onto her arm. He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her; one arm around her body and the other one on the back of her head. Her face was dug into his chest, as were her arms.

There was a loud thud when Archer hit the ground. He let out a grunt of pain upon impact, causing him to squeeze her even closer. There was a slight cloud of dust that was created when he hit the ground. When it cleared, Rin opened her eyes and pushed her body up with her arms, causing Archer's arm to slip from her head to the ground. Her body was a little shaken, but overall she was alright. She looked to Archer's face as he lay on the ground, his eyes were closed and his mouth was twitching in pain.

"Are you okay?" Rin asked worried. Archer slowly opened his eyes and flashed her a smile.

"I'm alright…just a little sore is all, I'll be feeling this for a while…how about you? Are you okay?" Rin smiled back at him.

"I'm fine; your body broke my fall…thank you for that by the way." Rin got herself to her feet, and then put her hand down to Archer. She helped him to his feet and then looked back up to the building. The hallway of the school that they had fallen from was now completely destroyed.

Archer was stretching out his arms, and then leaned from left to right, stretching his back.

"Can you get us back up there?" Rin asked, looking at Archer.

"It shouldn't be a problem, just be careful when you're on my back, it's still a little sore." Archer rubbed his back a little, and then invited Rin to hop on. She slowly hoped on, and put her arms around his neck once again.

"Is this alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, you're fine. Hang on, let's try this again." Archer tightened his grip on her legs and took another leap, landing back on the same ledge as before. Standing down the hallway was Saber and Shirou, they were conversing with each other but Saber was quick to pick up on their presence.

"Shirou," Saber said, glaring down the hall at Archer and Rin. Shirou turned himself so that he was facing towards them.

"Tohsaka..?" Shirou said her name like he was confused.

"Why did you just go running off?! You could've gotten yourself killed! At least you were smart enough to summon Saber, but that could've been avoided if I had been with you!" Rin was furious as she got off Archer's back and marched towards Shirou, hands on her hips.

"Sorry…it's just that when the barrier got active something just called to me, and then I ran to the school as fast as I could and in there I ran into Shinji and his servant...we had him on the ropes but then his servant called up her noble phantasm and they escaped…"

"Her noble phantasm huh… that must've been what knocked us off the ledge earlier… well we should regroup ourselves and look at the information we have; we should have enough to at least form a strategy against Rider."

"That sounds like a good idea…what do you think Saber?" Shirou shifted his attention to his servant. She still didn't like the idea of working with them, but she didn't voice her opinion.

"If it is what you want than I shall obey."

"That reminds me, I haven't been home yet to tell you, but Rin is going to come and stay with us for a while, at least until Rider is taken care of." Saber's face was angry as she looked Shirou in the eyes.

"Shirou you can't be serious! They are still our enemies whether we agree to work together or not, sooner or later we will have to clash!"

"We can cross that bridge when we come to it; listen, we can trust her. If she was going to kill me then I would've died yesterday, but instead she helped me." Saber looked away from him.

"Hmph, I still do not approve of this but since you are my master I won't argue."

"Saber-"

"It's alright Shirou," Rin said interrupting him. "Saber is just being cautious is all; it's what's to be expected of a servant."

"Yeah but still…" He continued looking at Saber. "I wish that you would at least try to lighten up and trust them…even just a little."

"The only person that I need to trust is you, my master. You must learn to stay alert at all times, never trusting-" Saber stopped her sentence when an arrow went flying past her head. It was so close to her face that it split some of her hair above her ear. Rin, Saber, and Shirou all looked to Archer who had drawn his bow.

"While you do have a valid point Saber, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't trust anybody else. Right now our masters have formed a truce, which also means that you and I will be fighting together as long as this truce remains. Whether you like it or not, you and I are partners as of now, so Rin and I should be people that you can trust. The boy is right, if we wanted you dead, we would've killed you. The fact that my master has chosen to form a truce with you and your master should speak for itself; while you yourself are quite a fearsome foe, your master is helpless and Rin could have killed him without so much as batting an eyelash. We offered our help to you, and so far we've done nothing to harm you, in fact we've saved your master before, and yet you still look at us as we are total enemies…while that is true, we will be enemies eventually, you should live in the present and welcome the future. When the time comes for you and I to clash, then so be it, but for now we are working together." Archer lowered his bow and let it dematerialize in his hands. He then made his way up to Saber and stuck out his hand, offering a handshake. Saber looked at his hand, and then back up into his eyes.

"…very well. If we are to work together, it wouldn't kill me to at least put a little trust in you." Saber closed her eyes as she shook Archer's hand.

"Finally…I'm glad somebody…could…talk some…" Shirou's voice was fading as he started to fall forward.

"Shirou!" Saber shouted, rushing to his side. She caught him before he landed on the ground, but it appears as though he lost consciousness.

"You should get him back to his house to rest…I'll get ahold of Kotomine and have him handle what happened here at the school. After that's done, I'll need to run home and grab some of my things and then I'll be heading over to his house as well," Rin said.

"Alright…then I shall take him home and inform him of your coming arrival when he wakes." And with that she carried him on her back and jumped out of the building.

"Come on Archer, I'll call Kotomine at the church while we head back to my house…I'll need to pack a suitcase of clothes and things to take with me."

"You don't really have a lot of clothing options…when I got your pajamas out of your closet all you had were skirts and shirts…" Rin blushed a little as she looked to him.

"I-is there a problem with that?!"

"Not at all, but have you ever heard of pants?"

"S-shut up! Of course I have! I just like skirts better is all…"

"Ah, I see…easy access…gotcha," Archer shot her a wink and a devious smile. Rin's face was now very red as she raised her hand and went to smack him. Archer caught her hand in mid swing and looked her in the eyes. "You're still cute when you're mad." He let go of her hand and she let it fall to her side. She turned around and crossed her arms, with a slight blush still on her face.

"J-just shut up…come on, we should go." Rin began to head towards the stairs when Archer called out to her.

"You're walking? You could hop on my back again and it would take less time."

"I need to make a phone call…flying through the air would make hearing and speaking difficult. I'll go make the call and I'll be right back…don't move." And with that she disappeared down the stairs. Archer watched as she walked away, her twin tails bouncing with every step. Archer smiled to himself and then walked over to the ledge that they had jumped up on. He stared out and looked out to the sky; the sun was starting to set and the sky was beginning to darken.

_That girl…heh, who would've thought… oh well, you can't stop the inevitable…if it was to happen then, then it's only reasonable that it would happen now… _

He continued to stand there and stare out to the sky until Rin made her presence known. She took him by surprise by jumping on his back without warning. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and put her chin down on his shoulder.

"Come on then, we don't have all day," She said teasing him. Archer adjusted himself and put his arms around her legs. He then leaped down from the building and began to sprint, eventually leaping back up to the rooftops of the surrounding buildings.

"Hey, I wanna ask you something," Archer spoke up as he continued to leap. Rin was taken a little of guard by the sudden statement.

"What is it?" She asked, her voice a little quiet.

"What are you going to do if we end up having to fight against that boy and Saber? I'm far outclassed… I'm just worried in the end this is going to come down to master versus master…the only thing I can do against Saber is buy you time." Archer's voice had turned surprisingly serious.

"…If that time comes than I'll do what I have to…"

"But you'd rather not…I'm honestly afraid that if it comes down to it, then you won't be able to do it…I don't say that because I doubt your ability or anything, I say that because I'm doubting your will…If you think about it, Shirou has become your friend…could you really look your only true friend in the eyes and kill him?"

"I… I don't know…if I have to then I will." Rin's grip around him tightened a little.

"Well don't worry about it for now, I'm sorry that I brought it up…it definitely killed the mood, but it was something that I wanted to ask you."

"Don't be sorry, I'm glad you asked…I know that we'll have to fight eventually, I just don't want to think about it."

"Heh, I knew you were a softy on the inside." Rin removed one of her arms from around his neck and smacked him on the back of the head.

"S-shut up…"

As their conversation ended, they approached Rin's house. He jumped from the roof he was on back down to the street in front of her house. She got off his back and made her way to the front door. She opened the door and stepped inside her house; Archer followed right behind her. She made her way to her room and when she got there, she instantly began searching for her suitcase. Archer sat down on her bed and waited for her. She eventually found it, and then began tossing clothes from her closet into it, mainly skirts and shirts, but she did make sure to pack her pajamas. After that she made her way over to the dresser, and was about to open one of the drawers when she turned her face towards Archer; she was blushing a little.

"D-don't look," She said. Archer sighed and then closed his eyes.

"Seriously? You really are a girl…you know that's one thing I've never understood…women don't give a shit when they wear a two piece swimsuit on the beach or at the pool, but if they get caught in their bra and panties than it's a big deal…"

"Archer!"

"What? I'm just saying…"

"You talk about it like it's nothing, a women is very vulnerable in nothing but her undergarments!"

"Well no shit, so is a man! Except if you catch us in our boxers we usually just wave and pray we don't have a bon-"

"That's enough!" Rin cut him off before he could finish. "Anyways, I'm done packing…we should head to Shirou's house, hopefully he's regained consciousness by now." Rin finished zipping up her suitcase and then sat down on the bed next to Archer.

"Well then, are you ready?" He asked her.

"I guess…could you do me a favor?" She asked him, her eyes softening up a little.

"…you want me to carry your luggage, don't you?"

"Please?" He let out a sigh and then stood up and picked up her suitcase by the handle.

"With my back still a little sore, I can't carry this and you, so we're going to have to walk."

"That's fine; it's a nice night out anyways." Rin stood up off the bed and began to head out of the room. Archer let out another sigh and then followed behind her. They left her house and began the walk towards Shirou's. They were the only ones who seemed to be walking the streets that night, as they didn't see anybody as they made their way to his house.

They finally arrived after about fifteen minutes, knocking on the door when they arrived. Saber was the one to answer, except now she was changed out of her armor and was wearing a white long-sleeve shirt that was tucked into a blue knee length skirt.

"How's Shirou?" Rin asked, stepping inside.

"He's still unconscious, but he seems to be in good health…the wounds he received in the battle have almost completely healed as well," Saber replied, turning around and heading back towards where Shirou was.

"His recovery rate is incredible…I noticed it the other day when he had been injured by Rider in our previous encounter." Rin followed Saber until they were in the same room as Shirou. He way lying down in the futon that was on the floor, his body was resting peacefully.

"While we're waiting for Shirou to recover, I can show you to the room where you'll be staying," Saber walked out of the room and down the hallway; Rin and Archer followed behind her. She stopped when they reached Rin's room. Saber slid open the door and Rin and Archer stepped inside. The room was much smaller than Rin's bedroom, but it was big enough. Archer tossed the suitcase on the ground and then belly flopped onto the bed, spreading his body across it, covering it entirely.

"This…is so…comfy…" Archer mumbled, his words nearly unrecognizable as he had his face in the pillow.

"…Will Archer be staying in here as well?" Saber looked to Rin a little confused.

"I would imagine so…he seems to have taken a liking to the bed; is that a problem?"

"Not at all…I tried to convince Shirou that I should sleep in the same room as him but he refused the idea because we are of opposite genders." Rin blushed a little as she looked to Archer who was still lying face down on the bed.

"I guess it doesn't bother me…I trust Archer, I don't think he would do anything, and even if he tried id break him faster than he could lift a finger."

"What do you mean 'do anything'? Are you referring to sexual contact?" Rin blushed again as Saber said it so bluntly. Archer laughed to himself on the bed.

"Y-you don't have to say it like that! B-but yes, that's what I was talking about…"

"I see…I too don't think Shirou would try anything but yet he refuses each time I mention it."

"W-well I'm not sure…he must just not want to take the chance or something…I don't know…"

"Well I'm going to get back to Shirou, make yourselves comfortable," she paused and looked to Archer who appeared to be asleep. "I see Archer has already done that…"

"Yeah, he does that…" Rin and Saber laughed a little and then Saber went to leave. "Hey, Saber," Rin said. Saber turned and looked at her.

"What is it Rin?"  
"I know that you probably still don't like this idea of us staying here but…you can trust us. We don't want to fight you, I mean look at him…the second we walked in here he let his guard down." Rin smiled as she looked at Archer. Saber looked at him as well, and then to Rin.

"…It's not that I don't like you, it'll just take a little time to get used to it…after all, we are still enemies in the grand scheme of things."

"I know…but for now, we're friends." Rin smiled at Saber, and then Saber turned and walked out of the room. Rin slid the door shut behind her and then walked over to the sleeping Archer that was on the bed. She looked at him for a second and then walked over to her suitcase. She pulled out her pajamas and then took another look at Archer, making sure he was asleep. After that, she took of her shirt and skirt and slipped on her pajamas. She pulled the ribbons out of her hair as well, and then walked back over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it.

"Hey, I'm going to need you to move so I can get into bed too," She said nudging his arm. He didn't move, he was still sound asleep. "Hey, Archer," She shook him again. He still didn't move. She let out a sigh and then gave him one last shake. This time, it woke him up. He turned his head towards her and looked up at her, his eyes very sleepy.

"…do you need me to move?" He asked adjusting himself. He slid as far over as he could without falling off the bed, which wasn't very far…the bed was quite small. He turned his body sideways, facing towards her. Rin got into the bed, and turned her body so that it was facing the same direction that Archer was, letting her hair fall into his face. Archer adjusted his head so that he wasn't suffocated by hair, and then tucked one of his arms underneath the pillow he was lying on. He could smell the scent that her hair was giving off, it smelled like strawberries, probably because of the shampoo she used. Archer smiled to himself as he let his mind slowly wander, and soon he was asleep. Rin kept her eyes open a little as she stared out in front of her, with a slight blush on her face, but soon she too closed her eyes, and eventually she fell asleep.

*AN* So now we're 6 chapters in, and very little action...don't worry though, the next chapter will be Saber and Riders battle so there will be action soon! Anyways, leave reviews and general thoughts, they're always appreciated! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Showdown: Saber vs Rider

Soon morning had come, and Rin had awoken to find her face only inches away from Archers; she must have rolled over sometime in the night. Archer's face was calm, even though his mouth was hung open a little and some drool was flowing out. His arm was still tucked underneath the pillow as he continued to sleep peacefully. Rin pulled herself away from him and then pushed the covers off of her. She sat up in the bed and stretched her arms out above her head, letting out a yawn. It was still pretty early, probably around 6:30 or so. The sun had just started to rise and the new day was getting ready to start. She gave on more look to Archer and then stood out of the bed, making her way out of the room. She slid open the door and stumbled down the hall until she found the kitchen. To her surprise, Shirou and Saber were already awake and sitting around the table.

"Oh, good morning Tohsaka…I almost forgot that you stayed here last night," Shirou greeted her with a smile. Her eyes weren't fully open yet as she was still a little tired, but she did her best to return the smile.

"Good morning…you two sure rise early don't you?" She teased them as she sat down across from Shirou and Saber. There were a few glasses of milk spread out on the table, so Rin helped herself to one. She took a drink and then set it back down, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. "How are you feeling?" Rin asked him. Shirou looked to the places where he had been wounded before he answered her.

"I feel fine…I think I might have just over worked my body yesterday and as a result I passed out. When I came to this morning, Saber filled me in on your arrival."

"At least you're feeling better…so that brings us to the next step, what are we going to do about Rider and her master? We should take them out quickly before they set up another barrier someplace." Shirou placed his hand under his chin as he thought about what she had said.

"You have a point…Saber and I will search around for him today after school, and make sure that no other barriers got set up; will you and Archer be joining us?" Rin rubbed her eyes and let out another yawn. She picked up the glass that was sitting on the table and took another drink before she answered him.

"No, I think that you and Saber can handle this…Archer and I have a different matter to attend to. Given the general stats, Saber should far outclass Rider, even if she is weakened by your imperfect summon. I don't see a reason why she should lose…just keep in mind what you know about Rider and her master and you should be fine." Rin stood up from the table and picked up the now empty milk glass. She took it over to the sink and rinsed it out, and then placed it on the counter.

"Alright, well if we end up fighting against them, we'll do our best to take them down before any more people get hurt." Shirou looked to Saber with a smile on his face. Saber looked back to him, and even though her face didn't show much expression, her eyes gave away her emotion. She looked happy that Shirou was finally taking this war seriously.

"So why are you up so early? Granted that you did pass out fairly early last night, but still…for it being so early in the morning you sure are acting all happy and energetic…" Rin crossed her arms and scowled a little at him, regaining her seat at the table.

"Well Sakura and Miss Fujimura should be here relatively soon...they usually come here every morning and Sakura makes us all breakfast…I wonder how they'll react when I tell them that you're staying here too though…Miss Fujimura didn't welcome Saber as well as I'd hoped…who knows what they'll think when they see that a fellow classmate of mine is living here too," Shirou let out a sigh as the unpleasant thoughts passed through his head. He could already feel the beating that Taiga was probably going to give him. It was at this time that somebody else had walked into the room they were all in, it was Archer. His eyes were heavy, and he was still incredibly tired. He blinked a couple times and then looked around, eventually stopping at Rin.

"Well, look who's awake…I didn't think that you would be up this early, you usually never are," Rin teased him. He leaned against the wall and attempted to smile, but he was too tired and it was too early for that.

"I didn't plan on being awake…but I might have rolled off the bed…" Archer looked away, a little embarrassed. Shirou and Rin let out a light laughter, and even Saber smiled a little.

"How in the world did you do that?" Rin asked him, still laughing a little.

"Well considering I was already sleeping on the edge of the bed anyways cause **somebody** was a total bed hog…" Archer let his sentence trailed off as he glared at Rin a little. Shirou looked at Rin, and then back to Archer.

"Hey, that isn't my fault!" Rin shouted back defensively.

"Bullshit! I was totally on that bed first…you could've taken the spare room, but instead you made me share…" He had walked over to her and put his hand on her head. He smiled down at her, and then took a seat next to her. Rin's face was a little red as he sat down.

"Wait, so you guys like slept in the same bed..? D-don't you find that awkward?" Shirou asked, now blushing as he looked from Rin to Saber, and then back to Rin.

"N-not at all, there's no reason that it should be. So what if we're opposite genders, I trust Archer." Rin looked out of the corner of her eye to Archer and then back to Shirou. Archer had a crooked smile on his face as he leaned backwards on his hands.

"Good morning sempai!" A voice shouted, coming from the front door. Archer's ears twitched at the sound of the voice, it was familiar to him somehow. He didn't know why, but something about this voice soothed him, like it was a voice that was welcoming him.

"Who is that..?" Archer asked aloud, the curiosity in his voice was definitely apparent. Just as he asked it, the person who the voice belonged to walked into the room. His eyes widened a little at the sight, he knew this girl.

Sakura Matou.

He had seen her earlier when she was walking with Shirou to school, it was the same day that Rin had gotten a uniform for him to wear. He must've just spaced who she was at the time since he only saw her for a split second before she was gone. The purple haired girl stood at the door of the kitchen and looked at all the people that were before her, she had a very confused look on her face, her attention mostly focused on Rin and Archer.

"Good morning Sakura," Shirou said waving to her. Sakura stared at Rin and Archer for a couple more seconds before it registered to her that Shirou had spoken. She looked at him and smiled.

"It seems your household has grown even more since last I saw you," Sakura laughed a little. She was curious about why Rin was there, and who this boy was that was sitting next to her..

"It looks like it," Shirou chuckled a little. Before he could continue though, Rin joined in and said something.

"My house is going under renovations for the time being, so I asked if I could stay here with Shirou since this house is so big and he lives alone…I figured I wouldn't be too much of a problem." Rin looked at Sakura, flashing her a smile, but this one seemed like it was forced.

"Oh, I see…well that was nice of you sempai," Sakura said as she looked back to Shirou. Archer's fixation on her hadn't changed. Since the moment she walked into the room, his eyes had been locked on her. His attention was finally broken when he felt Rin's hand had smacked down on top of his head.

"This here is-" Rin had started to say something, but Archer cut her off.

"Archer…I'm a relative of Saber, I heard that she had come here so I asked if I could join her…and well one thing led to another and here I am. You're Sakura Matou right?" Archer stood up as he asked the question, making his way over to her. He offered his hand out for a handshake as he awaited a response. Sakura obliged and shook his hand.

"I am; it's nice to meet you."

Archer looked into her dark violet colored eyes, and she looked back into his dark blue ones. Her hair was shorter than he remembered, but haircuts are bound to happen to people sooner or later. The way she wore the ribbon in her hair was the same though; her polite attitude hadn't changed either.

"Nice to meet you too…sorry to be a party pooper but I think that I'm going to try and get back to sleep," Archer paused and looked to Rin. "Come talk to me before you leave alright?" Rin nodded her head and then he got ready to walk out the door when he heard Shirou call out after him.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for breakfast? Sakura's cooking is amazing." Shirou looked at Archer who had his back to him. Archer didn't turn around but he did stop and look over his shoulder, smiling a crooked smile again.

"I know," He replied. He then walked out of the room and headed back down the hall. Shirou watched him until he was out of sight and then looked to Rin. When Archer had left, Sakura had taken his spot next to Rin.

"I wasn't sure what to make today, so I thought I'd ask around and see what people wanted," Sakura said looking at Shirou, then to Saber, and then finally at Rin.

"Anything you make is delicious, so it doesn't matter to me," Shirou replied. "By the way, where is Miss Fujimura? Shouldn't she be-" He paused when he heard a scream come from out in the hall. Not a few seconds later Archer had come running back in, hands on his head.

"Ow, ow, ow, get this crazy bitch off of me!" Archer yelled, running around the table. Following right behind him was Taiga, holding something that was rolled up in her hand; it looked like it might've been a poster. She was whaling on him with whatever it was in her hands, constantly smacking it down on his head.

"Miss Fujimura stop! He's welcome here!" Shirou yelled standing up. Rin stood up as well. She threw out her arms as Archer ran past her, stopping Taiga from following him.

"J-just who is this guy! I've never seen him before! And what are you doing here?" She looked at Rin and then over to Shirou. "Shirou you didn't..!" Taiga jumped backwards a little as an indecent thought crossed her mind. Rin and Shirou looked to each other, and then blushed as they figured out what she was talking about.

"N-no way!"

"Of course not!" Rin and Shirou shouted at the same time. Archer had turned around to face the person that had just assaulted him. His eyes opened up yet again as he looked at her, he knew this person as well.

Taiga Fujimura.

"This is Archer…he's a relative of Saber and he's staying here with her. Rin is here because her house is going under renovations, and she asked if she could stay here with Shirou because his house is so big," Sakura said calmly. Taiga looked to her, and then lowered her arms to her side.

"So you're telling me that two young boys are staying with two young girls in the same house, unsupervised?" Taiga tightened her grip on whatever was in his hand. Shirou and Archer gulped and looked to each other, then back to Taiga. "Unacceptable!" She slammed down the thing in her hand onto the table, scaring Rin half to death and causing Saber to flinch a little as well. Saber hadn't said much since the morning had started, she remained fairly quiet. That was soon to change though.

"Archer and Rin even slept in the same room last night," Saber spoke up with a devious smile on her face. Archer slowly turned to Saber, as did Rin.

"I understand we're enemies Saber, but really?" Archer said to her, his eyebrow twitching slightly. Rin was blushing at her statement, and even Sakura had a little blush on her face as her innocent mind was trying not to think of what Saber had just said. Taiga looked at Archer and then leaped towards him, raising up her makeshift weapon. She was getting ready to slam it down on his head when he raised up his hand and caught her 'weapon' before it hit him.

"Easy there Tiger," Archer still had that crooked smile on his face as he said it.

"What did you just call me?!" She yelled furiously. She withdrew her strike, and then made another one, with twice as much force as the last. Archer moved his head and dodged her attack. She made another attempt, one after another, until once again he caught her 'weapon'. He locked eyes with her and held open the palm of his free hand.

Rin caught sight of the weapon that was about to materialize, so she grabbed him by the hand and yanked him towards her. He released his grip that he had on Taiga's weapon when Rin yanked him, causing it to slam down onto the ground. Rin had ran out of the room and into the hall, throwing Archer against the wall around the corner. Taiga had gone to follow after, but she was stopped by Shirou and Sakura.

"What are you thinking?! You can't kill her!" Rin yelled at him. She had her hands pressed against his shoulders, pinning him to the wall. He moved his hands up, and gently pushed his arms off of him.

"I wasn't going to kill her, you should know that I have no intention of harming innocent people…I was just going to cut her weapon down to size is all…that thing really hurt, and it was pissing me off." Rin let out a sigh as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Just…go back to the room. Try and fall back asleep, you'll need to be rested up for later." Archer laughed a little at her statement and then shot her a wink.

"Rin, you dirty girl you, isn't that just what Miss Tiger in there was freaking out about?" Rin clenched her fist in anger and then smacked him on top of the head.

"S-shut up! You really are an idiot you know that?" Her voice was filled with annoyance as she spoke, but then it faded back to her usual tone. "By the way, how do you know who she is..? Isn't this the first time you've met her?" Archer flinched a little at her question…he still hasn't said anything to her about the world he came from, or the people that were in it.

"Well…it's a long story, a story for another time perhaps…but back to the statement you made earlier, what do you have planned for us later? Are we going after Rider?"

"…I'm still curious, but I'll let it go for now. Anyways, yes and no. After school is over, Shirou is going to go looking for Rider, and while I don't want to travel with him directly, I still want to stick close by. If we watch his fight with Rider, than we may learn a great deal about Saber and what she can do in combat…and since I am his partner, I should also be near just in case things get out of hand and he needs our help."

"I see…an operation in the shadows huh? Very well, if that's what you command. Although I don't like stealth operations very much, I will attempt to stay hidden as best I can. Keep in mind that I can't mask my presence very well, so we'll have to stay pretty far away from them…that shouldn't be too much of a problem though; with my eye sight I can locate them anywhere in the city as long as I'm up high enough."

"I can't be that far away though or I won't be able to see…s-so I was thinking I could just ride on your back and mask both our presences again…" Rin blushed a little as she finished her sentence. Archer chuckled a little as he noticed her blush.

"You're the master…I'll go by whatever you decide." Archer walked away from her and headed back towards their room. Rin watched him walk away, and then she walked back into the kitchen. Taiga had calmed down and was now sitting around the table, digging into a bowl of rice. Shirou, Saber,aAnd Sakura were all eating a bowl as well.

"There you are; would you like a bowl?" Sakura said when she saw her walk into the kitchen. Rin accepted and sat down at the edge of the table since Taiga had taken her spot.

* * *

Meanwhile, Archer made his way back to the room, thinking about the people he had just met.

_For the most part, they all look and sound the same…but they aren't the same people…they can't be. But still… _an image of Sakura and of Taiga flashed in his mind. He could picture their faces clearly. Archer sighed as he walked back into the room, sliding the door shut behind him. He walked over to the bed and laid back down, lying on his back and facing up towards the ceiling. He closed his eyes and began to think.

_All these people…why? Why are they the same people..? None of them know me, but I can recognize all of them…didn't I overhear them talking about Rider's master earlier..? Wasn't his name Shinji? …If my guess is right…it's Shinji Matou…the same name as the boy who was once somebody that I called a friend…he was a jackass but nonetheless we were friends….and then there's the person that Rin said is overseeing this whole event…Kirei Kotomine. Didn't Kotomine oversee the war in my world as well..? _

Then a certain thought hit him. _Wait a second…wasn't Lancer..? _Archer reopened his eyes. Lancer was indeed part of the war he was in…and his master was none other than the girl that he served now; Rin Tohsaka. _Did Lancer recognize me the first time we met..? Or can he not remember? Or is he a different Lancer than the one I know? … No, none of them are different, they're all the same. Even if a spirit dies, a spirit is still a spirit and it's just put back to rest…a servant can be summoned more than once as long as the conditions are right…so maybe…just maybe, Lancer knows about me. _

He was lost in thought, but that was broken when he heard the door slide open. He turned his head to find that Rin had come back to the room. She walked over to her suitcase and dug out her school uniform.

"Leaving?" Archer asked her, adjusting his position on the bed so he was lying on his side, facing towards her.

"Not yet, but I should probably get cleaned up," Rin replied. She turned around and got ready to leave the room once again. Archer watched as she left, and then closed his eyes, and attempted to fall asleep.

He must have fallen asleep for a while, because the next thing he knew Rin was shaking him awake again. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in her uniform, with her hair still wet.

"Hey, I'm getting ready to leave. Saber is going to be staying here as well until school is out, so try and play nice with her alright?"

Archer stretched out his arms and smiled at her.

"Don't worry, I have no intention of roughhousing with her today…by the way," Archer paused as he sat up in the bed. He got up close to her face and slipped one finger of each hand underneath both the ribbons in her hair. He pulled on them, and in a second, he pulled them out of her hair. "I like it better when it's down." He held the ribbons in the palm of his hands and laid back down. Rin blushed a little, and then she smiled at him. She shook her head a little, and let her hair fall down past her shoulders.

"I-I guess I can wear it down…I usually don't like to, but I guess one day can't hurt…" She sat up from the bed and walked out of the room. Archer watched her leave again, and then stared at the ribbons that were left in his hands. Even though they were a good deal from his face, he could still smell Rin's scent from them. He smiled at them and then placed them on the ground next to the bed. He then closed his eyes, and attempted once more to sleep.

He was just about out of it, when he heard a knock on his door. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the door.

"…Yes?"

"It's Saber, there is something that I wish to ask of you. May I come in?"

"Go for it," Archer rolled over in the bed, so now his back was towards the door. Saber slid the door open and stepped inside. "Well? What is it?" Archer asked her.

"As you know, there is a possibility that I will encounter Rider in a fight later on this evening."

"…And? So what?"

"I would appreciate it if you would spar with me for a little bit. It'll help pass the time and it would improve both of our skills."

"You know what else is good for passing time? Sleeping. Besides, do you really think it's a good idea to spar without either of our masters present? If one of us should get hurt, we would have no way of replenishing our mana until our masters get back."

"I am fully aware of the risks that could arrive, but still I wish to spar against you." Archer rolled back over and looked at the blond haired woman that stood at his door. She really did look different walking around in her casual clothes rather than armor. He looked at her for a few more seconds and then let out a sigh.

"Fine…when do you want to start?"

"As soon as possible; if that's alright with you." Archer slowly stood off the bed and then stretched his body, leaning left and then leaning right.

"Lead the way then." Archer narrowed his eyes at her and smiled. She returned the same look to him. Saber walked out of the room and Archer followed her. She led him to a small dojo like building that was very close to his house. They stepped inside and Saber took her place on one side of the dojo. Her armor then materialized over her body and she raised up her hands, gripping her invisible sword.

Archer was next to materialize into his armor, and then he summoned his two blades, and held them at his sides. He smiled at Saber, eagerly awaiting this sparing session to begin.

"You still keep your blade hidden, even in a friendly sparing session eh?" Archer smirked at her.

"Revealing my sword is like revealing my identity…I do not wish to do so at this time, so my blade will remain hidden."

"Fair enough I suppose…" Archer raised his swords and twirled them around in his hands before finally settling his grip on the handles. He crossed the blades and let the sharp edges of each one clash against the other. Saber tightened her grip on her blade and then dashed towards Archer. Archer dashed at her as well, and the two clashed blades in the middle of the dojo.

They spent hours in the place sparring with one another, not even noticing the time. Archer's and Sabers armor had gotten a little dinged up, but none of them were injured. They had stopped right around lunch time so they decided to head back to the house and get something to eat.

"You're not half bad, just as I would expect as a servant from the Saber class," Archer said as he let his armor dematerialize off of him so he was back in his casual outfit, the boy's uniform.

"You're not bad yourself; you're a lot better with those blades than I expected…I am curious though, not once did you try to distance yourself from me during our session. I figured an Archer class would prefer to fight from a distance, but yet you never did draw your bow."

"And you never did reveal your sword…we each revealed what we felt like we could." Archer opened the door to the house and waited for Saber to walk in before he followed in behind her.

They made their way to the kitchen, attempting to find some food. Archer walked up to the fridge and opened it up, luckily Sakura was nice enough to leave a little bit of what she had made earlier in the fridge. Archer grabbed the leftovers out of the fridge and brought them over to the table where Saber was sitting. He set hers down in front of her and then he sat down on the other side across from her.

"Thank you," Saber said to him.

"Welcome," He replied. They both began to chow down on their food; Archer was done with his in a matter of seconds. He placed the empty bowl back down on the table and belched. Saber looked at him as he did it, slightly grossed out.

"…excuse me," He said quietly. He then stood up and picked up his bowl. He took it over to the sink and then headed out of the kitchen. "I'm going to take a nap…wake me if you need me." Saber nodded her head, and Archer left. He went back to his room and plopped down on the bed. He was asleep in only a few seconds. It's easy to sleep when you're exhausted and have a full stomach.

The hours passed quickly as he slept, and soon Rin was back from school and she was once again sitting on the edge of the bed waking him up.

"Archer, get up! You haven't been sleeping **all** day have you?" She asked him a little annoyed. He opened his eyes and stretched out his body.

"Not really…I had quite an eventful morning actually." He slowly sat up in the bed and was now sitting on the edge next to Rin.

"Come on, Shirou and Saber have already left. We should leave too so we can keep an eye on them." Rin stood up and headed for the door, motioning for Archer to follow her. He was slow to move, but eventually he stood and followed her out the door.

They left Shirou's house and walked out onto the street. Rin looked to Archer and blushed a little.

"I-I should get on now…that way they won't pick up on us," Rin said. Archer looked at her and smiled. He then bent his knees and turned his back to her. Rin walked up to him and jumped on, throwing her arms around his neck. He put his arms around her legs and then began to sprint until he had enough speed to leap onto one of the roofs nearby.

"Do you know where they're at?" Archer asked.

"It's weak, but I can sense Saber's mana…she's doing a good job of masking herself…anyways, they're up ahead, take a right here and we should be able to see them soon."

"Very well then." Archer followed her instructions and changed his direction of travel. Soon, just like she said, the two came into sight. He slowed his movements down on the rooftops so now he was just standing near the edge any keeping his eye on them.

Rin and Archer followed them all over the city, they checked every place that was big enough to supply a decent amount of mana if a barrier were to be placed around it. They even checked Shinji and Sakura's house, but as they suspected, nobody was there. Rin and Archer stayed hidden but kept close to them, just in case.

Soon nightfall came, and Shirou and Saber had stopped by a park and were resting on a bench. They made idle chitchat for a few minutes and then continued back on their search…but they were running out of places to look.

"…This is getting ridiculous, we've been following them for hours and they haven't found anything," Archer complained.

"Just keep on them for now…it's starting to get late, I'm sure they'll be done soon." Archer didn't say anything back to Rin, he just continued to keep watch on Shirou and Saber. They were heading down a street, possibly heading to one of the factories that was close to where they were, when Saber's body moved like lightning and she deflected something that had been thrown at them. Archer quickly looked to see where the projectile came from, and that's when he noticed Rider on the side of the building.

"Rider…" He mumbled. Saber had leaped up onto the building, changing into her armor as she did. She ran up to where Rider was and exchanged blows with her, clashing her sword against her chained dagger. They swapped places with each other a few times on the building, clashing their weapons each time.

"It's begun. We should get closer Rin."

"Agreed, take us up to the building that's across from the one they're on."

"Right." Archer moved his body and headed for the building.

Rider had turned the tide to her favor though as she landed a kick to the face of Saber, knocking her off the side of the building. She was able to recover though and grab on to one of the ledges as she fell. She quickly pulled herself back up and continued to pursue Rider. Archer and Rin had now arrived atop the roof that was across from them, and watched as Rider led Saber up to the roof of their building. Rin and Archer watched as Rider jumped into the sky, and mounted a flying creature. It was a white horse with wings, a Pegasus.

"What…is that?" Archer asked looking at the beast that was across from them.

"It must be her noble phantasm…she's able to call up a phantasmal beast…Archer, ready your bow. If it looks like Saber is losing, don't hesitate to take Rider out."

"…As you wish." Archer let go of her legs and put his arms out in front of him, materializing his bow. He then pulled back on it and took aim at Rider, or at least he tried. The beast that she was on was moving too fast for him to get a clear shot. Even Saber was having trouble with it, just barely able to dodge to incoming strikes.

Then, as she was getting ready for a counter attack, the door behind her burst open, and Shirou came running out.

"What is he doing?!" Archer yelled.

"What is it Archer?" Rin asked him. She could obviously see the creature Rider was on, and by judging where she made her attacks, she could guess where Saber was, but trying to actually see a body on the roof from their distance was too difficult for her.

"It's that boy…he's on the roof now too. He's going to get himself killed…" Rin looked at Archer and then back to the roof. "…go Archer, get him out of there!" Rin shouted. Archer looked to her, with a surprised look on his face.

"Excuse me?"

"Like you said, he'll get himself killed if he stays over there!"

"…You're serious, aren't you?"

"I am. If I have to use a command seal to make you do it, I will." Rin held up her hand and showed that she was serious. Archer seriously thought about refusing and forcing the use of a command seal, but he decided against it. He lowered his bow and stood on the edge of the roof. He then took a deep breath, and then jumped off, falling quickly to the ground below. Rin watched as his body turned into what seemed like a small dot running across the road.

Archer leaped to the side of the building and quickly began making his way up it. He kept his attention ahead of him, looking up to the sky. He saw Rider circle around on her Pegasus, and then he felt a strong gust coming down from the roof. Rider was now moving a lot faster than she was earlier; she looked like a shooting star falling out of the sky.

"Well that can't be good…" Archer mumbled to himself as he raced up the building. He had leaped from the building upwards and caught hold of the edge of the roof with his hands. He was pulling himself up, when he stopped halfway to look at Saber. Around her and her sword was swirling wind; it was like a tornado had formed around her.

Then the wind disappeared, and in her hands she held a golden sword.

_That sword..!_ The thought raced through Archers mind as he looked at Saber and her now revealed weapon. She raised it above her head and then with one mighty slash, she released the devastating force of her weapon.

"Ex…caliber!" She shouted as she slashed her sword. A massive golden wave of energy was sent out towards Rider up in the sky. The shockwave sent out from her swing made Archer nearly loose his grip on the edge as one of his hands slipped. He was quick to regain himself and pull himself back up. When he looked back up to the sky, the golden flare was coming to a close, and Rider was now gone. Saber was panting heavily as her grip on her sword weakened. The sword fell from her hands, and her herself fell to the ground. Her armor had broken apart as well, the metallic guards that were on it were no longer there.

"Saber!" Shirou yelled, running to Saber. As he made his way to her, another voice was shouting something from up above where Shirou was standing.

"M-my command seals! No! T-this can't be…stay away!". Archer looked to up to a more elevated part of the roof, and up on top stood a boy with blue hair, outfitted in the boy's uniform. Archer recognized him immediately.

Shinji Matou.

He went to turn around and escape the roof, but when he turned, he met eyes with a force worse than death. Behind him stood the little girl, and her servant, Berserker. He had no time to react to the Goliath before the mighty hand of the beast came and crashed into him. He let out a scream of pain as he could feel his ribs shatter inside his body, he then screamed even more when he realized that he was now falling off of the roof.

*AN* Sadly, the fight between Saber and Rider was a little bit more difficult to do than i had imagined...but only because i was trying to tell it from Rin and Archer's points of view...its difficult to drag out a fight scene when you're not actually there, you're just watching. Nonetheless i hope that this chapter will suffice as i start working on the next one. Thanks for reading, and thank you for the reviews! I seriously do appreciate them, i enjoy knowing what you as readers want to see more of, less of, etc... so please, keep reviewing! Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Showdown: Archer & Lancer vs Berserker

Archer was in shock as he watched the blue haired boy get swatted off the roof with such ease. He screamed the entire way down, and soon it stopped. It was safe to assume he had reached the ground, and that he didn't survive. He narrowed his gaze to the little girl that was giggling like a child, standing close to her servant. Her laugher was so innocent; it was hard to believe she just killed a man.

Archer finished pulling himself up on the roof and gave a look to Shirou who was kneeling down by Saber; his gaze facing towards the child and the powerful giant that stood next to her. He hadn't noticed that Archer was up on the roof, not yet anyway.

"Hehe, I'm sorry mister, I didn't mean to steal your kill but he was going to get away if nobody stopped him," She kept a devious looking smile on her face as she looked to Shirou. She then walked out in front of Berserker and moved her gaze from Shirou to Archer, who was still standing near the edge where he had pulled himself up from. Shirou followed her line of sight and he too caught sight of Archer.

"Archer..? What are you doing here?" Shirou asked him. Archer shifted his glare from the little girl to Shirou, but only for a second; he then went back to focusing on her. He didn't answer his question right away; instead he slowly made his way over to Shirou, still not breaking eye contact with the girl.

"You need to get out of here; Saber is in no condition to fight. She's severely exhausted and needs to regain her mana. I'll hold him here as long as I can but don't expect that to be for very long, I'm outclassed in this matchup." He paused and looked over to the building that he and Rin had been standing on. He looked for a second, but he didn't see Rin up there anymore. "I would imagine Rin is on her way up here as well…if you hurry and leave you should be able to cross her path; make sure all of you get away from here. Tell her I'll catch up and not to worry." Archer stepped out in front of Shirou and called his blades into his hands. He held them at his side; waiting until Shirou was gone before he would strike.

"Archer…" Shirou stared at Archer, and then to Saber. Archer was right, Saber was in very poor condition, and she would surely be killed if they stayed up on that roof any longer…but still, Shirou didn't want to abandon Archer and leave him for dead but what could he do? At this point he would be as much help as Saber would. He watched Saber for a second, her breathing was slow and heavy, but at least she was alive.

"I won't tell you again…go. Now." Shirou gritted his teeth as he realized that he had no other choice. He picked Saber up bridal style and gave one final look to Archer. He was about ready to leave, when the sound of the little girl's voice stopped him.

"I admire you're nobility Archer, but is this boy really worth dying for? I would understand if he was your master, but he isn't, so why throw your life away?" She had a confused look on her face as she spoke to Archer. Archer smirked a little before he gave his response.

"You're right…this boy isn't my master, but if I were to simply let him die here it would also be like letting a part of me die as well…" Shirou and the girl were now both looking at him with confusion. Neither of them were sure as to what he meant by that.

"I don't understand…but it doesn't really matter since you'll all die eventually. Oh, you know what? I don't think I've had the chance to introduce myself, wouldn't it be rude to get killed by somebody and not even have a name to curse in your final moments?" She paused and giggled a little. Archer narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth a little bit at her. "My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern, and this big guy here is my servant Hercules," She looked to her servant and placed her hand on the mighty giants leg. He grunted and growled a little as she spoke. Archer chuckled to himself a little.

"You throw your servants true name out like it's nothing…are you sure that's wise?" He was teasing her as he now raised his blades up in front of them, crossing them in the formation of an X.

"Like I said, you'll all die eventually so it doesn't matter if you know or not. The result will be the same." She glared at Archer, and he glared back at her. Shirou looked from Illya to Archer; he could feel the tension between the two growing quickly. Archer then turned his attention to him, having an angry dissatisfied look on his face.

"Why are you still here?! Go!" Archer shouted at him. The loudness of his voice made Shirou jump a little, but then he slowly nodded his head. Archer watched as he headed for the stairs that would leave out of the building. He waited a few more seconds after Shirou had vanished down the stairs, and then he returned his attention back to Illya and Berserker, keeping his blades steady out in front of him. Archer moved his feet a little and then got ready to strike, but just as he went to leap a new voice had started to speak.

"Heh, you weren't planning to start without me were you?" Archer looked to his right, over to the opposite side of the building, and standing on the ledge, was Lancer. He had his spear behind his head and going over his shoulders.

"Lancer..?" Archer was relieved and confused at the same time. Lancer jumped down from the ledge and made his way over to Archer, moving his spear from behind his head to his side. Archer lowered his weapons for the time being as Lancer stood next to him.

Illya looked at Lancer, and then to Archer. But rather than looking worried, she smiled. This smile that she wore had no sense of worry, she almost looked happy to see Lancer show up.

"I'm not complaining or anything, but what are you doing here?" Archer asked. Lancer smirked and then held his spear out in front of him, ready to attack.

"I saw that beam of light and rushed over here to see what was going on…looks like my timing was perfect," Lancer laughed as he looked at Illya and Berserker. Archer smiled, and then he too turned to the girl and her servant. They both noticed the smile that was on her face, and it made them uncomfortable.

"I'm glad you came Lancer; it'll save me the trouble of looking for you later," Illya said looking at the two servants that stood across from her on the roof. Her velvet eyes were locked on them like a hawk, and she was ready to swoop in and make the kill. "Go on Berserker; kill them all!" Just as she finished her sentence, her servant let out a loud roar. He jumped down so he was on equal level with Lancer and Archer, and then he began to charge at them, his stone slab in his hand raised and ready to strike. He slashed it down towards them, causing the two to jump away from each other, Lancer going right and Archer left. The attack slammed onto the roof, creating a large shockwave and some dust.

Archer raised up his weapons and then threw them. They were tossed in the opposite direction of the hand they were in, but they only went so far and then began to circle around. As soon as his weapons were tossed he materialized a bow, and took aim. He fired his arrow at the head of Berserker. The two blades were closing in on Berserker, one on each of his sides, and the arrow was fired down the middle. Berserker took a leap backwards to avoid the blades, and raised up his arm to block the arrow. The arrow shattered apart as soon as it collided with the arm of the behemoth, not doing any damage at all.

Archer raised up his hands and caught the blades that had circled back to him.

"Go Lancer!" Archer shouted, looking to Lancer who had gotten behind Berserker. He had jumped up in the air and was falling down, his spear aimed at Berserkers head. Berserker looked upwards, and then raised his stone slab, blocking the attack Lancer had made. As soon as their weapons clashed, Archer had drawn another arrow and fired it, the tip of this one glowing a little.

Still looking up at Lancer, and having one of his arms preoccupied blocking an attack, Berserker wasn't able to stop this one. The arrow hit the chest of Berserker and then it had exploded, engulfing him in a cloud of smoke. When the arrow exploded, Lancer pulled back his attack and fell back behind where Berserker was standing. There was a second of silence before the roar of the beast was heard and the smoke cloud vanished instantly. Berserker swung his weapon horizontally at Lancer with great force. Lancer raised his spear to block, but the attack was too powerful. It collided with his spear, the force of the swing was so strong that it picked Lancer up off his feet and threw him towards Archer.

_There should've been enough force behind that arrow to kill him, or at least leave an injury of some kind…but there isn't a scratch on him…_ Archer was too lost in thought to see that Lancer had been tossed at him. He didn't realize it before it was too late; their bodies crashed into each other and Archer stumbled backwards. Lancer's body had stopped when it hit Archers, and he was picking himself back up with the help of his spear. Archer was trying to regain his footing from stumbling, when the back of his heel slipped off the edge of the roof and he fell backwards.

Archer was falling head first, his feet pointing up towards the sky. He looked down below him and figured he probably had a fifteen or twenty second window to do something before he crashed into the ground. Needing to do something, Archer flipped himself around, so that now he was falling feet first. He materialized his blades in his hands and dug them into the steel of the building. Sparks went flying out as his blades slashed through the metal, but soon enough his fall had stopped. He pulled himself up with his blades like he was doing a pull up, and he was able to get enough momentum on the way up to jump a little and plant his feet on top of the handles of the blades. He looked back up to the roof and then jumped, making his way back up the side of the building.

When Archer reappeared on the roof, Lancer was clashing weapons with Berserker yet again. Lancer's strikes were quick and spontaneous, but Berserker was able to slap each strike away with his stone slab. Archer called forth his blades and took a firm grip on them, and then he too charged into the fight. He flanked Berserker from the side and went to slash at him, but Berserker took notice of him and swung his free arm at him, causing him to jump backwards and cancel his attack. Lancer had ended his clash with him as well and jumped back to Archer's side.

"For being the size of a house he moves pretty damn fast," Lancer panted, slightly out of breath.

"No kidding…we need a plan," Archer replied, starting to feel a little tired now as well. Their chat was brought to a quick halt by another strike from Berserker. He slammed his weapon down on them, but they were just able to jump out of the way. The sheer force of the swing though was able to put a dent in both of their armor. Another cloud of dust formed after the impact of his weapon hit the ground, covering the area where they had been standing. Unable to see through the dust, Archer didn't notice that Berserker had swung again. He didn't see it until it was closing in on him. He raised his blades to his sides and was able to clash his weapons with Berserker's at the last second, but that wasn't enough to stop the blow. The blades shattered only a few seconds after they had clashed with Berserkers weapon, and the stone slab smashed into the side of Archer. He coughed up a little blood upon impact, and then he was tossed across the roof. When his body hit the ground, it rolled a few times before coming to a stop. He could feel the pain in his chest, in his ribs, all over his body. Even his legs felt a little tingly from scrapping across the rooftop when he was rolling. He tried to pick himself up, but he only got halfway before falling back to the ground. He was able to raise his head though and look over towards Lancer.

"Archer!" Lancer called out to him. He was going to try and make it over to him, but the second he moved, Berserker had slashed down at him with his weapon. Lancer jumped backwards to avoid the attack, but it was clear he wasn't making it over to Archer without getting past Berserker. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his spear. Berserker let out another roar, and then took charge at Lancer. Lancer let his mouth slowly form a smile as Berserker ran at him.

"Alright hot shot…let's see how you like this...I powered up my spear especially for this…" Lancer held his spear out in front of him and pointed it down to the ground. The tip of the spear began to glow red as Berserker closed in. Lancer closed his eyes for a second, and then reopened them when he thrust his spear at the ground. "Gae…Bolg!" Lancer shouted. The spear hit the ground of the roof, and then just like it had done before, it ricocheted off and took aim at Berserker. Berserker raised his weapon and went to swing at the attack, but as he swung, Lancer's attack changed direction and swerved around his weapon.

The spear then impacted against the chest of Berserker, piercing his skin. Berserker roared upon getting hit and then dropped to his knees. Lancer pulled back his spear and let out a sigh, letting his weapon rest at his side. He then went to head over to where Archer way lying, he had walked past Berserker and was a few feet from Archer, but he stopped when he heard the growl of Berserker once more. He turned back around to find that Berserker was standing tall, without a scratch on him. Archer and Lancer both looked at Berserker in awe of the fact that he wasn't injured at all. Archer was now able to pull himself back onto one knee, but he needed to use one of his blades to keep him up.

"You didn't miss did you..?" Archer mumbled, looking over to Lancer. Lancer looked back to him, slightly offended by his question.

"Of course I didn't! I watched my attack break his skin and pierce his chest…" Lancer gritted his teeth and glared at Berserker. Archer pushed his body up with the help of his blade so that he was now standing on his feet again. "So then…what should we do?" Lancer asked, keeping a firm grip on his weapon.

"I have an idea…can you buy me a minute or two?" Archer shifted his look from Lancer to Berserker. His body was still killing him; he knew that some of his ribs were broken. It was sometimes hard to breathe, making it hard to be accurate with his weapons.

Lancer raised up his spear and set his sights on Berserker. "Whatever you're going to do, do it fast…neither of us are going to last much longer against this…thing."

"Don't worry…I just need to line up my shot…it's hard to aim when you've got cracked ribs and you can't control your breathing very well. One minute is all I'll need." Archer reassured Lancer and then called up his bow, letting the blade that he was holding fall to the ground and shatter apart. Lancer took a deep breath and then charged at Berserker. Berserker was eagerly awaiting another fight as Lancer thrust his spear at him. Berserker slapped away his spear just like he had done before, but this time it was like he was blocking them just to block. The way he moved his body was like he didn't care if it hit him or not, he was just blocking and waiting to attack. Archer took notice of his movements, and come to think of it, Berserker had been awfully still while him and Lancer were talking for that brief period. Maybe he **was** injured from the attack and they just couldn't see it..? Archer didn't know.

Now that Lancer had Berserkers attention, Archer could move into place. He ran as quick as his body would let him back to the other side of Berserker, towards the spot where he had originally been standing when the whole fight began. He stood up on the ledge of the roof and held up his bow. He pulled back on it and took aim. He closed his left eye as he was trying to reduce the swaying of his hands.

_My hands shouldn't be this shaky…he must've done more damage to me with that one attack than I thought…I need to make this shot count. _The tip of the arrow that was loaded in the bow began to glow a little as he prepared to fire.

Lancer was starting to find himself in some trouble as Berserker was starting to swing back. He could no longer worry about trying to hit Berserker; now he had to worry about Berserker hitting him. The strikes from the goliath became more and more uncoordinated; he was just swinging and smashing like it was the only thing he knew. Even though Lancer was able to dodge the attacks, the wave of air sent out from them felt like it was cutting his skin. Berserker raised his weapon above his head and was ready to slam it down again, and that's when Archer called out to Lancer.

"Lancer! Move!" Archer shouted letting the arrow go. Lancer jumped away from Berserker and over towards Archer. They both watched as the arrow was flying towards Berserker, but just as Lancer thought it was going to hit Berserker in the head, it flew past it, nearly grazing his skin.

"You missed!" Lancer shouted furiously. Archer smirked a little at his comment.

"Berserker wasn't my target."

The arrow he had fired was heading towards Illya.

She was caught off guard and was unable to react to the shot. If this shot hit, she would die. She watched as the arrow closed in on her, the tip of it shining bright. She closed her eyes as she thought it was going to pierce her head, but it didn't. The arrow was off target just by a little and rather than hitting her head, it grazed the top of it. The hat she had been wearing had been taken off of her head by the arrow, and it traveled behind her, but only a few feet. She smiled when she thought she was safe, but that soon changed when the tip of the arrow exploded. It was still fairly close behind her, and as a result the explosion sent her flying out towards the area they had been fighting. There was a large cloud of smoke that had appeared from the explosion, and it was big enough to cover the fighting area, making it nearly impossible to see.

"Run Lancer," Archer told him as he let his body fall backwards off the building. Lancer took his advice and retreated as well. He didn't go the same way Archer had though; he must've gone to the side where he had come up at the beginning.

Archer fell down from the building for a bit, but then he did what he had done earlier. He called forth his blades and dug them into the side of the building, slowing his fall. He held onto them until he had stopped, and by then he was close enough to the ground to let go. The second his feet hit the ground, he looked back up to the top of the building, and watched as the smoke cleared out.

* * *

Back up on the building, Illya had been caught by her servant. She was lying on one of his arms, the one that wasn't holding the weapon. Her head was bleeding a little, but it was nothing to worry about, it would heal in time.

Illya sat herself up on his arm, and then he moved her up onto his shoulder.

"Come on Berserker…we're going home…" She said softly. The giant vented some air out of its nostrils and then turned around. It jumped off the opposite side of the building as Archer had, and began to head back to wherever their home was.

* * *

Archer only looked up for a few seconds, and then he turned and began to head back to Shirou's. He looked down at his body as he walked down the street. His gauntlets had a little blood on them, as did his chest. The white scarf that he had tied around his waist also had some blood on it, causing it to turn red on some parts. His pants were torn a little too, and there was some blood trickling down from his head.

_Man…I really dinged myself up on this one didn't I? Heh, oh well…at least I got out of their alive…barely. _Archer smiled to himself and continued to walk. He looked at the buildings that he passed by, trying to remember what ones he had seen on the way here with Rin…he didn't know his way around the streets very well, but his body was too weak to be able to jump from roof to roof. It killed him as is just to walk with broken ribs; he didn't even want to imagine constant jumping. He eventually found his way and knew where he was…Rin's house wasn't too far from him, and from there he knew how to make it to Shirou's.

The night was a little cold, but not really. It actually felt pretty good compared to some of the other nights. The wind was blowing a nice gentle breeze, and the moon was shining bright in the sky. This night was just like the night when he had been summoned by Rin. Archer made the comparison in his mind and smiled.

The walk was a lot quieter, and longer, without Rin. This was pretty much the first time that she had been away from him besides school; he didn't like it very much. It was boring without having somebody to talk to. He then started to imagine what she was going to be like when he finally got back…he imagined she wasn't going to be very happy with him, but what was he to do? If he ran, then Shirou and Saber would probably be dead, and that would've probably made her made…if he tried to grab them and run he probably would've been followed, and he would've had to fight Berserker anyways…at least this way he had the surprise of having an ally in his fight, and everybody got out alive. He let out a sigh as he realized he was in one of those lose-lose situations.

After a while, he had come to the front of Shirou's house, the front door was a very welcoming sight for him. He took a deep breath, which hurt a little, and then made his way to the door. He placed his hands on it, and then opened it. The lights were on in the hallway, and there was some light coming from the kitchen; Archer assumed that's where the others were. He stepped inside, and shut the door behind him. He walked over to the kitchen and inside Rin and Shirou were sitting at the table. Rin had her head lying down on it, facing away from the entrance and Shirou was staring at table lost in thought, neither of them seemed to notice he had walked in.

"Yo," Archer said smiling at them. He had one of his arms resting on his ribs, and the other one was dangling at his side. Rin raised her head of the table at the sound of a familiar voice. Shirou looked to him, and a smile of relief came across his face. Rin slowly turned her head, and then quickly jumped up off the floor when she saw it was Archer.

"Archer..!" She said, running up to him. She had thrown her arms around his chest and was embracing him. Archer could tell from the way that she hugged him that she had been worried about him, and it must've been to a pretty good extent if she was to go as far as hugging him in front of other people. He flinched a little at the hug; it sent a little shock of pain through his body.

"Careful, I think a couple ribs are broken," He said, gently pulling her away from him. Rin examined his body and saw how beat up he looked, his torn clothing, the blood on his armor, the blood trickling from his head, he looked like hell. "How's Saber?" He asked, looking to Shirou.

"Well…Tohsaka says that she's going to be fine but her mana levels are dangerously low and that I need to figure out a way to transfer mana to her, but since I can't do that…she says the only way is to use a command seal and force her to attack innocent people and drain the mana from them…" Shirou's voice went quiet as he finished his sentence. That must've been what he was so lost in thought about when Archer had walked into the room.

"…but she'll be alright for now, right?" Archer looked to Rin, who was the one who apparently had the answers.

"Yes, but that's it…if she doesn't get mana soon, then she'll fade away for good."

"I see…"

"We should wait until morning and see if Saber regains consciousness before we talk about what happened tonight with your fight…for now, I need to get you fixed up. I should be able to fix your body up and get those bones healed…you'll probably still be sore for a couple days, but nothing to worry about." Rin grabbed Archer by the wrist and dragged him out of the kitchen. Shirou watched as the two left the room, and then he too decided to leave and go keep an eye on Saber. Rin led Archer back to their room and then once they were in she had him sit on the bed.

"A-alright, I'm going to need you to take of your shirt…I'll need to be in direct contact with the area that needs healing…" Rin blushed a little and looked away from him. Archer looked to her and then smiled a crook smile. He pulled off his gauntlets on his arms, and then went to pull his shirt over his head, but he only got halfway before he could really feel the pain. He let go of his shirt and it fell back onto his body.

"…could you help me?" He asked embarrassed, a slight blush on his face.

"A-are you serious..?" Archer's silence and his blush answered her question. She moved towards him and he began to pull it off again, stopping just before the pain got to be too much. His shirt was hallway pulled up, and that's where Rin took over. She placed her hands underneath his shirt and pulled up, slipping his arms out from the sleeves as well as his head. She blushed as she admired his body, he was pretty well toned. The wound he had from his first fight with Lancer was still there, it hadn't healed yet.

"A-alright, now lie down…" Archer moved his body so that his legs were on the bed, and then he laid down, resting his head on the pillow. Rin placed her hands on his body, specifically on his rib cage. He flinched at first when she touched it, but then he was able to suck it up and deal with it. "The bones are going to fix themselves now, so this might hurt for a second or two." Archer closed his eyes and braced himself for whatever pain was about to come his way. Rin was right, the second he felt his bones move back into place, it was the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. Rin could see that he was about to scream so she placed his hand over his mouth. "Almost done, just hang on." A tear of pain trickled out of his eye, but then his body loosened back up, it was over. "All done." Rin's voice was soft as she smiled at him. Her eyes moved from his face down to his hand, she was looking at the command seal that was still there. Archer sat himself up, resting his back against the backboard of the bed. He pulled away his hand and held it out in front of him, admiring the command seal as well.

"I never did tell you about this, did I?" He mumbled quietly. Rin shook her head. "I don't want to tell you just yet…but remind me to tell you about it when you don't see it on my hand any more…" Rin wanted to know what he was hiding, but she didn't want to antagonize him anymore, not tonight anyway. "You know…after the fight, and I was walking home, it was really lonely. It was so boring not having anybody to talk to," Archer smiled as he closed his eyes. Rin smiled back at him, and then she got up on the bed and laid down next to him. She rested her back against the backboard as well, and she closed her eyes. She let her head fall down to Archer's shoulder, and that's how they slept the rest of the night.

*AN* I usually try to update this story every 2-3 days or so, but this next update might be between 5-7, I've got a pretty busy week and weekend so this next update will probably take a little longer than usual. My apologies, but what can you do eh? Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope this was a decent chapter!


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